A plane with 72 people on board has crashed in Nepal.

"We don't know at the moment if there are any survivors," a spokesman for Yeti Airlines told AFP on Sunday.

Among the 72 people on board are 68 passengers and four crew members.

The rescue work is in progress.

The plane crashed between the old and new airports of the city of Pokhara in central Nepal.

The wreck was on fire.

Efforts are being made to extinguish the fire and rescue passengers, a local official said.

Safety standards in Nepal's air transport are low due to insufficient staff training and poor maintenance of the machines.

The European Union has therefore banned all Nepalese airlines from its airspace.

In addition, the Himalayan state is home to some of the most remote and difficult airstrips.

The weather in Nepal's mountains can change quickly and create dangerous flying conditions.

Last May, all 22 passengers died when a plane belonging to the Nepalese airline Tara Air crashed on the way from Pokhara to the mountaineering destination of Jomsom, including two Germans.

In March 2018, 51 people were killed when a plane operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla crashed near the international airport in the capital, Kathmandu.

The worst plane crash in Nepal happened in 1992.

At that time, 167 people died on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu Airport.