At least five people have been killed after a helicopter carrying foreign tourists crashed near Mount Everest in Nepal.

The helicopter crashed in the Lamajura area and rescuers have recovered the bodies of five people and are searching for the sixth, said Basanta Bhattarai, the chief government administrator in the area.

The aircraft was returning to the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday morning after taking the five tourists on a sightseeing trip to the world’s highest peak.

The tourists were believed to be Mexican nationals while the pilot was Nepalese.

Airport official Sagar Kadel said weather conditions had caused changes to be made to the helicopter’s planned flight route.

It is common for flights to be delayed and routes changed during the monsoon season amid heavy rains.

The tourist and mountaineering season ended in May with the onset of the rainy season and tourist flights to the mountains are less common this time of year as visibility is poor and weather conditions become unpredictable.