Small tourist plane crashes in Malawi, 6 dead

LILONGWE, June 17 (Reuters) A small plane crashed in northern Malawi, killing five British tourists and a Canadian pilot, a police spokesman said today.

Willie Mwaluka said all passengers on the plane, which went missing yesterday during a sight-seeing flight, were killed in the crash.

''The wreckage of the plane was found by villagers in a ravine, and there were no survivors,'' he said.

''The five Britons were on a cycling tour in the northern part of Malawi and they took a plane yesterday (Saturday) with a Canadian pilot for sight-seeing. The plane was expected back at camp after 45 minutes but never returned.'' Don Chimtengo, the Senior Air Traffic Controller at Lilongwe International Airport, said a Malawi Army Rescue team had been sent to the scene of the accident to retrieve the wreckage of the Cessna 2006.

REUTERS PJ KP2239