Nepal plane crash: 18 dead as aircraft crashes during takeoff at Kathmandu airport

Nepal Plane Crash: Pilot Manish Shankya was rescued and taken to a nearby hospital and is undergoing treatment for a head injury

Emergency services work at the accident site of a Saurya Airlines plane that caught fire after skidding off the runway while taking off in Kathmandu on Wednesday. (Photo: Reuters)

Eighteen people have died as a Saurya Airlines flight skid off the runway while taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu on Wednesday morning.

The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, Airport Security Chief Arjun Chand Thakuri told news agency Reuters.

Pilot Manish Shankya was rescued and taken to a nearby hospital and is undergoing treatment for a head injury. The rescue operations are being led by the Nepal army.

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According to eyewitnesses quoted by The Kathmandu Post, the plane flipped after the wing-tip hit the ground while taking off. They said that the plane immediately caught fire and plunged into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway.

#WATCH | Plane crashes at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal’s Kathmandu. Details awaited pic.twitter.com/9CudlsmFKS

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2024

The plane belonged to local Saurya Airlines, media said. Saurya operates domestic flights in Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets, both around 20 years old, according to Flight Radar 24.

In January last year, 72 people, including five Indians, had died after a Yeti Airlines flight had crashed Sunday just before landing in Nepal’s tourist city of Pokhara. According to Reuters, nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes since 2000. The deadliest incident occurred in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 people.

With inputs from Reuters

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