A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Friday, killing 19 people, including seven British and five Chinese passengers, an airline official said.

The twin-engine propeller-driven Dornier aircraft, owned by private firm Sita Air, had taken off from Kathmandu for Lukla in the Mount Everest region when it crashed in a field near Kathmandu airport, police said.

The weather was clear at the time and the cause of the crash was not immediately known. Four Nepali passengers and three Nepali crew were among the dead.

Autumn is the peak tourism season in Nepal which has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest. At least 11 people were killed in an avalanche in northwest Nepal on Sunday.

In May, 15 people were killed when their plane crashed into a hill in northwest Nepal.-Reuters