18 passengers die in a plane crash in the remote mountains of northeast Nepal on Wednesday, at around 11.30 am local time, only pilot survived.

A small private plane, Yeti Airlines carried total 19 people crashed while landing Tenzing-Hillary airport, Lukla. A total of 18 passengers of whom 12 German, 2 Swiss and 4 Nepalese passengers are dead. Nepalese pilot survived the crash and was flown to Katmandu for medical treatment.

The plane reportedly caught fire after crash-landing and hitting the perimeter boundary at the airstrip.

The remote airport at Lukla was built in the 1960s by mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary to facilitate expeditions to the world’s tallest peak.

About a dozen private airlines operate in Nepal. Many fly to remote areas that have no roads, mostly carrying foreign tourists to the Himalayan foothills, including Mount Everest.