A small airplane crashed and caught fire Wednesday as it tried to land in foggy weather at a tiny mountain airport near Mt. Everest, killing 18 people, including 16 tourists from Germany, Australia and Nepal, an airport official said.

Only one person, the pilot, survived the crash.

The Yeti Airlines 19-seat Twin Otter plane, which had taken off from the capital, Kathmandu, snagged its wheels on a security fence during its landing at Lukla airport, about 65 kilometres from Mt. Everest, said Mohan Adhikari, general manager of the Kathmandu airport.

The plane caught fire and came to a stop within the airport grounds, Adhikari said.

He said 19 people were on board, including 12 German, two Australian and two Nepalese tourists. There were also three Nepalese crew members. The Nepalese pilot survived and was flown to Kathmandu for medical treatment, though Vijay Shreshta, executive director of Yeti Airlines, said his injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

A fog had descended on the airport just before the crash, said Suraj Kunwar, who was at Lukla waiting for a flight.

"Suddenly there was a big bang, and flames came out of the plane," he said. "All the passengers waiting for planes ran to help douse the flames, but the passengers were already dead."

'We are completely shocked': tour company owner

The visibility at the airport was about 1,310 feet (about 396 metres), just enough for the aircraft's landing, Adhikari said.

The 12 Germans were on a tour run by Munich-based Hauser Exkursionen.

"We are completely shocked," said Michael Schott, who owns the company, adding that one of the Nepalese victims was the group's tour guide.

Schott declined to release the names of the victims, pending identification of the bodies and notification of their families.

The tiny Lukla airport, little more than a runway carved from the side of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2,800 metres, is an important jumping-off point for trekkers beginning their hikes and mountaineers heading to Everest.

The walk takes several days from there to Mt. Everest Base Camp.

The airport is famous among travellers for its dramatic scenery, its stomach-lurching landings — and its occasional crashes. The end of the runway has a steep drop of a few hundred metres.

In 2005, nine passengers and three crew members survived a crash in a small Gorkha Airlines plane with minor injuries.