Eighteen individuals have been killed within the crash of a regional passenger aircraft belonging to Nepal’s Saurya Airways throughout takeoff from the capital, Kathmandu, officers say.
The aircraft crashed on Wednesday and caught hearth. It was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians and was going for normal upkeep to the brand new airport in Pokhara, which opened in January and is supplied with plane upkeep hangars, they mentioned.
“Shortly after takeoff … the plane veered off to the fitting and crashed on the east aspect of the runway,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal mentioned in an announcement.
Eighteen of these on board have been Nepali residents whereas one engineer was from Yemen, Saurya mentioned.
“Solely the captain was rescued alive and is receiving remedy at a hospital,” mentioned Tej Bahadur Poudyal, a spokesman for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Worldwide Airport.
Tv photos confirmed firefighters attempting to place out the blaze and thick black smoke rising into the sky. In addition they confirmed the aircraft flying slightly above the runway after which tilting to its proper earlier than it crashed.
Different visuals confirmed rescue staff rummaging by way of the charred stays of the aircraft, strewn in lush inexperienced fields, and our bodies being carried to ambulances on stretchers as native residents regarded on.
“The aircraft was scheduled to bear upkeep for a month starting Thursday. … It’s unclear why it crashed,” mentioned Mukesh Khanal, head of selling at Saurya Airways.
Kathmandu airport was closed briefly after the crash however reopened inside hours, officers mentioned.
A Saurya Airways official mentioned the aircraft was a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-200 plane.
Nepal has been criticised for a poor air security document, exacerbated by many airports within the Himalayan nation being situated in distant hills and close to peaks shrouded in clouds. Nepal is dwelling to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains.
Positioned within the coronary heart of the Kathmandu Valley, the nation’s predominant airport is ringed by mountains, affecting wind instructions and depth within the space and making takeoffs and landings a problem for pilots.
Almost 350 individuals have died in aircraft or helicopter crashes in Nepal since 2000. The deadliest incident occurred in 1992, when a Pakistan Worldwide Airways Airbus crashed right into a hillside whereas approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 individuals.
Most just lately, at the very least 72 individuals have been killed in a Yeti Airways crash in January 2023 that was later attributed to the pilots mistakenly reducing off energy.