The bodies of 18 out of the 19 people on board a Kathmandu flight were recovered after the plane crashed at a Nepal airport on Wednesday, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.
The passengers included two crew members and 17 Saurya Airlines staff who were on the Pokhara-bound plane when it caught fire around 11 am. Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki informed AFP that the flight was being conducted for technical or maintenance purposes. The pilot was taken to a hospital, as reported by a security official at the airport.
Did you know that you can join The Theorist on WhatsApp and stay updated? Click here
The plane burst into flames after skidding off the runway during takeoff, a spokesperson from the airport was quoted by the NDTV. The CRJ200 plane, which can seat 50 passengers, failed to gain altitude, slipped off the runway, fell down an embankment, and caught fire.
Videos from the scene show a large fire with plumes of smoke rising near Tribhuvan International Airport. Firefighters and the Nepal army are at the crash site, and the cause of the fire is still unknown.
ALSO READ: After series of elephant deaths due to poaching in Nepal, North Bengal-based wildlife conservation body bats for cross-border collaboration
Tribhuvan International Airport is a tabletop airport located atop a plateau surrounded by deep gorges and valleys, making it one of the riskiest airports in the world.
The Nepal air industry has a poor safety record, plagued by inadequate training and maintenance. In 2023, a Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board, including five Indians. This incident was Nepal’s deadliest crash since 1992 when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 people aboard.
