Nepal plane crash updates: At least 18 people were killed after a Saurya Airlines aircraft crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal's Kathmandu on Wednesday, July 24. Nineteen people, including aircrew, were aboard the Pokhara-bound plane which met with the accident at around 11am, said Premnath Thakur, TIA spokesperson.
Police and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the accident site.
The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told PTI without giving further details.
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Nepal plane crash: What we know about Saurya Airlines mishap
- The Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft "suffered a runway excursion and burst into massive flames immediately", the Search and Rescue Centre of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
- Videos posted online showed the plane being enveloped in fire and smoke. Fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the spot after the incident.
- The deceased were identified as co-pilot S Katuwal and 17 employees of the Saurya Airlines, including a Nepali female and a Yemeni national.
- Pilot captain Manish Shakya, 37, is undergoing treatment at Kathmandu Model Hospital.
- Of the deceased, 15 died on the spot while three died during treatment at a local hospital, authorities said.
- Following the accident, services at the Kathmandu airport were halted briefly before being resumed, the airport authorities said.
- Saruya Airlines operates flights to five tourist destinations within Nepal, with a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets, according to the company’s website.
- The Saurya Airlines flight was en route to Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.
Nepal plane crash: What we know about Saurya Airlines mishap
- The Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft "suffered a runway excursion and burst into massive flames immediately", the Search and Rescue Centre of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
- Videos posted online showed the plane being enveloped in fire and smoke. Fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the spot after the incident.
- The deceased were identified as co-pilot S Katuwal and 17 employees of the Saurya Airlines, including a Nepali female and a Yemeni national.
- Pilot captain Manish Shakya, 37, is undergoing treatment at Kathmandu Model Hospital.
- Of the deceased, 15 died on the spot while three died during treatment at a local hospital, authorities said.
- Following the accident, services at the Kathmandu airport were halted briefly before being resumed, the airport authorities said.
- Saruya Airlines operates flights to five tourist destinations within Nepal, with a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets, according to the company’s website.
- The Saurya Airlines flight was en route to Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.
Nepal's air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers. But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.
Nepal averages about one flight disaster a year. Since 2010, the Himalayan destination has witnessed at least 12 fatal plane crashes, including the latest one.
In January 2023, a tragic accident took place when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near the central city of Pokhara. All 72 people on board, including passengers and crew members, lost their lives in the incident. The aircraft plummeted into a steep gorge, breaking into pieces and bursting into flames as it approached Pokhara.
On May 29, 2022, a Tara Air plane crashed in Mustang district, resulting in the fatalities of all 22 individuals aboard.
In 2018, a tragic accident occurred near Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport involving a US-Bangla Airlines flight. The plane crash-landed, causing the death of 51 people, while 20 others sustained serious injuries.
According to Nepal’s civil aviation body, 914 people have died in air crashes in the country since the first disaster was recorded in August 1955.
The only incidents in which more people were killed took place in July and September 1992. Those crashes involved aircraft of Thai Airways and Pakistan International Airlines and left 113 and 167 people dead, respectively.