Officials released a report saying that 18 people were killed after a small plane which was carrying German tourists crashed to a cliff and exploded in Nepal’s Everest region on Wednesday morning. Binaya Shakya of Yeti Airlines added that only one of the passengers survived and that was one from Nepal.

The plane was owned by Yeti Airlines and had 12 German passengers on board together with two Nepali and two other passengers from Switzerland. The identities of the victims weren’t known immediately. The aircraft was coming from Kathmandu, the capital city, and was heading for Lukla airport at about 155 miles to the east.

The passengers passed above Everest Base Camp at nearly 15,700 feet while flying toward Lukla. The accident occurred during the busiest month of the year. The general manager of the Katmandu airport, Mohan Adhikari, stated that the plane hit the airport boundary fence while it was landing at Lukla airport.

Lukla airport is 185 miles east of Katmandu. Its runaway is only 20m wide and is put on a slope, with 700m drop at one end. The airport is set on a mountainside at 9,380 feet and is very popular for mountaineers who are heading toward the expeditions in Himalaya.

"Twelve German and two Swiss people were on the passenger manifest," was the only thing released by the airport officials.