LAST UPDATE: 10:59
At least 18 people were killed when a small plane crashed and caught fire during its takeoff today in the capital Kathmandu, Nepal, officials from the country announced.
The plane was carrying 2 crew members and 17 technicians who were being transported to the city of Pokhara for maintenance checks, clarified the head of airport security Arjun Chand Takuri.
“Only the pilot was rescued alive and is receiving care in a hospital,” said the spokesperson for Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Tej Bahadur Pundir.
The Kathmandu Post reported earlier that 5 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. In television footage that aired, firefighters were seen trying to extinguish the fire while thick black smoke rose into the sky.
The plane “caught fire after veering off the runway during takeoff at Kathmandu airport and crashed in an area east of the runway,” clarified Takuri.
According to officials, the airport was temporarily closed.
The plane belonged to the local airline Saurya Airlines, according to Nepalese media. This airline operates domestic flights in Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional aircraft, according to Flight Radar 24.
Nepal has been criticized for low levels of aviation safety, and nearly 350 people have been killed in plane or helicopter crashes in this Himalayan country since 2000.
The deadliest accident occurred in 1992 when an Airbus of Pakistan International Airlines crashed into a hill while approaching Kathmandu, claiming the lives of 167 people.
More recently, at least 72 people lost their lives in the crash of a Yeti Airlines plane in January 2023, which was attributed to pilot error.
SOURCE: AMPE