The plane carrying trekkers headed to the Mount Everest region crashed just two minutes after takeoff in Nepal, killing 16 passengers and 3 crew members Friday morning. The plane hit a vulture and came crashing down just 547 yards from the airport.
Katmandu Airport Official Ratish Chandra Suman said he was unsure if the plane was already on fire before it hit the ground, but the fire quickly spread to the rear shortly after. Seven passengers were British and five were Chinese and their burned bodies were taken by vans to the hospital morgue.
The plane was en route to Lukla where the passengers would have began their scenic journey around the mountain.