Fourteen people, including six foreigners, were feared killed when their small plane crashed in bad weather in Nepal on Tuesday, a government official said. 

The Agni Air plane, returning to Kathmandu after failing to land in Lukla in eastern Nepal because of bad weather, crashed near the outskirts of the capital, Home (interior) Ministry official Jai Mukunda Khanal said. Lukla is the gateway to Mount Everest.

'Rescuers have not been able to reach the remote site due to flash floods. According to locals there is little chance of survivors,' Khanal told Reuters.

The nationality of the foreigners was not immediately known, an Agni Air official said. The plane had a crew of three.

Independent ABC television said the plane had broken into pieces. Kathmandu airport official Triratna Manandhar said army helicopters were being rushed to the site but rescue was hampered due to rains.

Eighteen people, 12 of them Germans, were killed when a small plane crashed two years ago in Lukla. - Reuters