Local media reported that 18 of the 19 people on board a Kathmandu flight have been recovered after the plane crashed at a Nepal airport on Wednesday.
The Nepal military reported that the passengers, including crew and technical staff, were on board a Pokhara-bound Saurya Airlines plane when it caught fire around 11 am. The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told news agency PTI.
The plane burst into flames after skidding off the runway during takeoff. The CRJ200 aircraft, which has a capacity of 50 passengers, failed to gain altitude, slipped off the runway, and fell down an embankment before catching fire. Videos from the scene show a large blaze with plumes of smoke rising near Tribhuvan International Airport.
Firefighters and the Nepal Army are on the scene, but the cause of the fire remains unknown. Tribhuvan International Airport, a tabletop airport situated atop a plateau and surrounded by deep gorges and valleys, is known for its high risk. The Nepalese air industry has a poor safety record, plagued by inadequate training and maintenance.
In 2023, a Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara killed all 72 people on board, including five Indians, marking Nepal’s deadliest crash since 1992. In that year, a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport, resulting in the deaths of all 167 people on board.