A Saurya Airlines plane crashed shortly after takeoff. All 18 passengers perished.
According to police, numerous people lost their lives in a plane crash in Nepal on Wednesday. “18 bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner,” a police spokesman told the news agency AFP. Only the pilot survived the crash when the plane took off from the airport in the capital, Kathmandu – he was reportedly rescued from the burning wreckage, according to police. The foreign victim is reportedly a citizen of Yemen.
The Saurya Airlines aircraft crashed on Wednesday morning at around 11:15 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. CEST), the Nepalese military explained. The plane “veered right shortly after takeoff and crashed on the eastern side of the runway,” according to the airport. The surviving pilot is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The operator of a nearby tire business told AFP that the aircraft caught fire after the crash. “We were just about to walk to the scene, but then there was an explosion, and we ran away again,” said 48-year-old Ram Kumar K.C.
Plane catches fire on runway
The plane was supposed to fly to Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan state. The news portal “Khabarhub” reported that the aircraft skidded on the runway and then caught fire. Army images from the crash site showed that the fuselage of the plane had broken apart and was burned down to the frame.
The flight was conducted either for technical or maintenance reasons, said Gyanendra Bhul of the Nepalese Civil Aviation Authority to AFP. Army images from the crash site showed that the fuselage of the plane had broken apart and was burned down to the frame.
Safety inadequate
The aviation industry in Nepal has seen tremendous growth in recent years. However, due to inadequate training and maintenance, safety is lacking. The European Union has banned all airlines from Nepal from operating in the EU due to safety concerns. Thus, no flights from the Himalayan state may take off or land in Europe.
Furthermore, Nepal has some of the most challenging runways in the world, which pose a challenge even for experienced pilots. Additionally, the weather in the mountainous country is very changeable, creating treacherous flying conditions.
The last major aviation accident occurred in January 2023 when a Yeti Airlines plane crashed while landing in Pokhara. All 72 people on board died. Previously, in 1992, more people perished in a crash involving a Pakistan International Airlines plane approaching Kathmandu airport, with 167 casualties.