Air accident investigators from the UK are heading to Nepal to investigate the plane crash which killed seven Britons on Friday.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was sending two staff to Kathmandu to assist local authorities probing the disaster, which killed all 19 people on the aircraft shortly after take-off from the capital city's airport.

The British group, who arrived in Nepal on Wednesday were due to begin trekking in the Himalayas and were travelling with Hampshire-based travel company Explore Worldwide.

They were named as Raymond Eagle, Timothy Oakes, Vincent Kelly and his brother Darren, Christopher Davey, Stephen Holding and Benjamin Ogden.

The twin-engine propeller Dornier plane crashed in a field shortly after taking off from the capital Kathmandu.

Five Chinese people, three Nepalese passengers and four crew members were also killed, and while initial reports claimed the accident was caused by a bird strike, reports from Nepal now suggest pilot error was to blame.