A small passenger plane crashed and caught on fire Wednesday while taking off from Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, killing 18 on board and injuring the captain, who was the only survivor, officials said.
The Saurya Airlines flight carrying two pilots and 17 workers — mainly technicians and airline employees — was headed for Nepal’s Pokhara airport for regular maintenance when it crashed just after takeoff, officials said.
Shortly after takeoff from the Kathmandu airport at 11:11 a.m. the plane turned right and crashed into the eastern side of the airport’s runway, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.
Smoke rises from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 24, 2024. AP“I came out and saw a plane had crashed and there was a huge smoke and fire coming out,” said Kam Kumar Khatri Chetri, who owns a car parts store about 330 feet from the site of the crash. “There was chaos and confusion.”
Soon after the crash, the plane erupted into flames, making it impossible to try and save its passengers.
“It was just horrible and there was no way that anyone could just go near the plane and help out when there was so much fire and even explosions,” Chetri added.
The captain was the sole survivor of the crash, according to Tej Bahadur Poudyal, a spokesperson for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.
He sustained non-life-threatening injuries to his eyes and is receiving treatment at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, officials said.
Authorities have recovered the 18 bodies belonging to the other passengers and the other pilot who was killed.
The co-pilot, identified as Sasant Katuwal, had only been flying for the past three years after completing training in France, his uncle Dhyan Bahadur Khadka said, adding he had just received a visa to travel to Germany for additional training that he was excited to complete.
Rescuers are seen carrying the injured pilot of Saurya Airlines’ plane after it crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Nepal Police/AFP via Getty Images
Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out all 18 bodies. AP
The passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on July 24, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital. AFP via Getty Images“His parents are grieving the loss of their only child,” his uncle added. “He was unmarried. He was not just tall and handsome, but he was well-behaved.”
The crew and 16 technicians were Nepali nationals, while one other employee was identified as a Yemeni national, officials said.
Their bodies have been taken to the T.U. Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy.
Nepal army personnel sort through the debris after a domestic plane belonging to Saurya Airlines crashed just after taking off at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. APWhile it is monsoon season in Kathmandu, it was not raining at the time of the crash. Visibility, however, was low across the capital city at the time.
The Kathmandu airport, the main airport in Nepal, is considered a challenging airport for pilots and bigger planes as it is located inside a valley and surrounded by mountains.
Nearly 360 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in the country since 2000.
Nepal army personnel carry a dead body after a domestic plane belonging to Saurya Airlines crashed. AP
Tribhuvan International Airport was closed after the crash to allow emergency crew and investigators to work.
With Post wires.
