At least 18 people were killed when a plane crashed and caught fire while taking off from Kathmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday.
The pilot, the sole survivor of the accident, is currently hospitalized for treatment.
There were 19 people on board the Saurya Airlines test flight, including technical staff and two crew members. The plane was en route to Pokhara, a well-known tourist destination.
Online videos captured the plane engulfed in flames and smoke. Emergency services, including fire engines and ambulances, were quickly dispatched to the scene.
The incident happened at around 11:15 local time (05:30 GMT), a few minutes after the plane took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to a statement by the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination centre.
The statement said the plane “turned right and crashed on the east side of the runway”.
“It was reported that the fire was brought under control and the rescue work was started immediately,” it added.
“The dead bodies of 18 people were collected and one injured person was rescued and taken to the hospital.”
Nepali police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki confirmed the fatalities to BBC Nepali.
An airport official reported hearing “some cracking noises” from the plane before the crash.
Nepal has faced criticism for its air safety record. In January 2023, a Yeti Airlines crash claimed at least 72 lives, with the incident later attributed to the pilots mistakenly shutting off the power.
According to the company’s website, Saurya Airlines operates flights to five destinations within Nepal using a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets.
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