A Norwich couple were among the five British tourists killed when their sightseeing plane crashed in Malawi on Saturday.

A Norwich couple were among the five British tourists killed when their sightseeing plane crashed in Malawi on Saturday.

Dawn Rollins, who worked at accountancy firm Lovewell Blake, lived with husband Colin Smith, 45.

The Cessna plane came down in a river valley between 2pm and 2.30pm on Saturday, according to Shadreck Chibinga, duty air traffic controller at Lilongwe International Airport. It had set off for a 30-minute sightseeing tour of the Rumphi district of northern Malawi but never arrived at its destination, prompting a search and rescue operation.

The crash is believed to have happened in bad weather.

Simon Watson, a partner at Lovewell Blake, said the couple had no children.

Ms Rollins specialised in agricultural accountancy.

Mr Watson said: "Staff and friends are absolutely devastated. Dawn was very well liked by her staff and clients and fellow professionals.

"Dawn very much loved life. She loved to go on adventurous holidays, cycling in Africa; she was very keen on the outdoors."

The others tourists were Nigel Clout, 53, a father of two from Hemel Hempstead, Daniel Turnberg, 37 from north London, and David Murrell, 45,

The Canadian pilot also died.

It is believed the tourists were part of a wider group of keen cyclists and squash players on holiday together, staying at a lodge on the Nyika Plateau

The Nyika Safari Company, which offers access to the Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Game Reserve in the remote north of the country, is understood to have been operating the plane. The company apparently has its own Cessna 206 which seats four to five passengers and offers charter flights to and from the two reserves to any other destination in Malawi.