18 killed in Nepal after plane slips off runway during takeoff - VIDEO/UPDATED
A domestic plane crashed Wednesday while taking off from the airport serving Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the lone survivor, News.Az reports citing Associated Press.
Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out all 18 bodies. The only survivor was the pilot, who was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital for treatment, said a doctor at the hospital who was not authorized to speak to media.The pilot has injuries to the eyes but is not in any danger, the doctor said.
The bodies have been taken to the T.U. Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy. The airline manifest showed there were two pilots and 17 passengers on board, among them there was only one female. The crew and 16 passengers were Nepali nationals with one identified as foreigner but no nationality was disclosed.
The Saurya Airlines plane was heading from Kathmandu to the resort town of Pokhara.
It was not clear how it slipped.
Local media images showed smoke rising and plane wreckage scattered all over a ditch. A fire has been brought under control.
Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport in Nepal for international and domestic flights, has been closed as emergency crew worked.
It is monsoon rainy season in Kathmandu but was not raining at the time of the crash. Visibility was low across the capital, however.
Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 on domestic routes.
The Kathmandu airport, the main airport serving Nepal, is located inside a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides. It is considered a challenging airport for pilots and bigger planes have to come through an opening on the mountain to land. It is right next to the city. The airport is surrounded by houses and neighborhoods.
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A passenger plane carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday with the pilot surviving but many others aboard dead.
The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying two crew and 17 of the company’s staff members for a test flight, Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP, News.Az reports.
“The pilot has been rescued and is being treated. It is not possible to confirm the status of others on board right now. Many have not survived,” he added.
Images of the aftermath shared by Nepal’s military showed the plane’s fuselage split apart and burnt to a husk.
Around a dozen soldiers in camouflage were standing on top of the wreckage with the surrounding earth coated in fire retardant.
A Nepalese #Airline plane caught fire at Kathmandu #Airport. pic.twitter.com/uEkNcp6Woz
— News.Az (@news_az) July 24, 2024
The plane crashed at around 11:15 am (0530 GMT), the military said in a statement, adding that the army’s quick response team had been lending assistance with rescue efforts.
News portal Khabarhub reported that the airplane had caught fire after skidding on the runway.
The plane was scheduled to fly on Nepal’s most trafficked air route between Kathmandu and Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.
Saurya Airlines exclusively flies Bombardier CRJ 200 jets, according to its website.
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