(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-04 14:45

KATMANDU, Nepal -- A United Nations helicopter crashed Monday while flying in bad weather in Nepal's mountainous east, killing 12 people including at least seven UN staff, officials said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "great sorrow" after learning of the crash.

A UN helicopter in flight in this 2007 file photo. A United Nations helicopter crashed in Nepal on Monday, killing all 12 people on board, including some foreigners, officials said. [Agencies]

The helicopter went down about 125 miles east of Katmandu as it was returning to the capital from a cantonment site in eastern Nepal's mountainous region, UN officials said. Nepalese authorities said the helicopter was flying in bad weather.

Modraj Dotel, an official with Nepal's Home Ministry, said police rescuers have recovered 12 charred and unrecognizable bodies from the crash site. The UN, however, has said there were only 10 people on board.

Villagers reported seeing a ball of fire after the crash. Initial rescue efforts were conducted only by units on foot due to the rain and darkness, police official Chinu Acharya said by telephone. Rescue helicopters were able to reach the area on Tuesday morning after the fog cleared.

UN spokeswoman Michele Montas in New York said there were four UN arms monitors on board -- from South Korea, Indonesia, Gambia and Sweden -- three UN staff members from Nepal, and a three-member Russian crew.

Earlier, the Russian Transport Ministry said the craft was a Russian-made Mi-8 and was carrying eight passengers and three crew members -- two Russians and a Belarusian. The discrepancies could not immediately be explained.

Sudden rain on Monday had forced the cancellation of many scheduled commercial flights. Flying in bad weather is often difficult in Nepal's mountainous terrain. Pilots often use their vision to navigate through the mountains and depend less on instruments.