Peer's son among dead in Malawi plane crash

The names of the five British tourists killed in a plane crash in Malawi over the weekend were released yesterday as reports indicated they belonged to a larger group of sporting fans who were holidaying in the region.

The six-seater Cessna took off from the capital Lilongwe early Saturday afternoon and headed towards the Nkiya National Park in the north of the country but crashed shortly after 2pm. An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched but early indications suggest bad weather may have been to blame.

The dead were named as: Nigel Clout, 53, Daniel Turnberg, 37, from north London, Dawn Rollins and Colin Smith, a married couple from Norwich, and David Murrell, 45. The Canadian pilot was named by the company that chartered the flight as John Debbins. Dr Turnberg was the son of a Labour peer, Lord Turnberg of Cheadle.

Colleagues of Mr Clout, a sales director from Hemel Hempstead who had two children, paid tribute to him yesterday. Simon Fennell, a colleague, said: " When we heard about the plane crash, we were just hoping against hope. His was a very close family. Nigel was always talking about his wife and family and was very proud of his daughters."

Mr Clout's two daughters, in their mid-twenties, were being comforted at the family home by their mother Margaret.

The accident occurred on the 2,600 metre Nyika Plateau, a vast expanse of grassland that is a major draw for the small numbers of tourists to Malawi. Roads across the region are in particularly poor condition and tourists often take short and relatively inexpensive flights to cut down on travelling time.