4 Americans Among 14 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

(Aug. 24) -- A plane carrying tourists to an airstrip that serves as a gateway to Mount Everest in Nepal crashed today after being forced to turn back by bad weather. All 14 people aboard were killed, including four American women, a Briton and a Japanese.

The small, German-made Dornier passenger plane was returning to the capital, Katmandu, when it smashed into a hillside and broke into several pieces, according to a witness in the nearby village of Shikharpur.

"There are small pieces of the plane all over the field, and you can see body parts," villager Pratap Lama told a local radio station, the BBC reported.

Nepalese villagers and soldiers look at wreckage of an aircraft

Nepalese Army / AFP / Getty Images

Nepalese villagers and soldiers look at the wreckage of a passenger aircraft that crashed in Shikharpur, near Katmandu, killing all 14 on board.

The U.S. Embassy in Katmandu confirmed the death of the four Americans and said it was ready to help, according to a Reuters report. Reuters said five Nepali passengers and a crew of three were also killed.

"Yes, we can confirm that all 14 on board the plane are dead," a Katmandu airport official, Tri Ratna Manandhar, told the news agency.

A rescue helicopter brought some of the bodies back to the capital late today, and further efforts to retrieve others will continue Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

The plane had taken off for Lukla, a popular spot for trekkers and mountaineers, but turned back because of heavy clouds. It radioed its position about 12 miles from Katmandu and said it was beginning its descent. Contact with the plane was lost about two miles later, the BBC said.

Thousands of people use the airstrip each year to set off on treks to Everest and other nearby peaks, but few attempt such trips in the monsoon season, according to the AP.

Rains and floods associated with the current season in South Asia have caused more than 1,500 deaths in Pakistan and displaced millions of people from their homes.

The plane's operators, Agni Air, identified the Americans as Irina Shekhets, 30, Levzi Cordoso, 49, Heather Finch, 40, and Kendra Fallon, 18. The U.S. Embassy said it had informed the next of kin of their deaths, according to The Times of India and The Himalayan Times.

Eighteen people, including 12 Germans, died when a small plane crashed at Lukla in 2008.