Rescuers gather near the bodies of air crash victims in Jomsom, Nepal yesterday. A small plane crashed near a treacherous highaltitude airport in the area, killing 15 people while six others miraculously survived. Photo: AFP

A small plane crashed near a treacherous high-altitude airport in northern Nepal Monday, killing 15 people while six others miraculously survived, police said.

The aircraft belonging to local carrier Agni Air ploughed into the ground just outside Jomsom airport, a gateway to the Annapurna mountain range, shortly after the pilot reported a fault.

"Fifteen people have been killed. Thirteen of them were Indian tourists and the other two were Nepali pilots," police spokesman Binod Singh said.

He said there were six survivors, among them a Nepali air hostess and an Indian man who is being treated.

The Danish foreign ministry in Copenhagen said two Danes had also been rescued and were being treated in the city of Pokhara, 60 kilometers from Jomsom.

Basanta Dawadi, of the Pokhara tourism council, said he had spoken to the pair, a man and woman in their early 30s who were both trekkers.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said two Indian children aged nine and six had been pulled out alive from the wreckage. It released no details about their injuries but said they had been taken to hospital.

Dozens of army and police personnel scoured the steep hillside where the plane had come to rest, picking through the wreckage and scattered personal effects.

Bimlesh Lal Karna, head of Nepal's national rescue department, said the pilot had reported a warning light flashing in the cockpit as he descended to Jomsom.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said he was "deeply saddened" by the accident.

The incident was the second deadly air accident for Agni Air in less than two years.