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Five people, including two tourists, died after a helicopter crashed near a popular hotspot. All five casualties were on the helicopter, which crashed on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania's aviation authority said.

All five occupants of the aircraft died in the incident on Wednesday, December 24, at an altitude of around 15,400 feet near Camp Barafu, according to Tanzania's aviation authority.

Those killed were identified as a Tanzanian guide, a Tanzanian doctor, a Zimbabwean pilot and two tourists from the Czech Republic, Tanzania National Parks said in a statement.

Police said the aircraft was on a rescue mission to pick up patients from the mountain when it went down.

The aircraft was operated by Kilimanjaro Aviation, a company that provides medical evacuation and other aviation services in the region.

Regional police commander Simon Maigwa confirmed the operator and said investigations were under way to establish the cause of the incident. Emergency teams were deployed to the crash site, which is located in a remote and challenging area close to the summit route.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, rises to around 20,000 feet above sea level and attracts climbers from across the world. An estimated 50,000 tourists attempt to summit the mountain each year, with medical evacuations sometimes required due to altitude sickness and injuries.

Authorities have expressed their condolences to the families of those killed, while inquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Aircraft accidents on the mountain are rare. The last recorded helicopter crash on Mount Kilimanjaro occurred in November 2008, when four people were killed.