Local media reported that the bodies of 18 out of 19 people on board a Kathmandu-bound flight were recovered after the plane crashed at a Nepal airport on Wednesday.
The Pokhara-bound Saurya Airlines flight caught fire around 11 a.m., according to the Nepal military. Passengers, crew, and technical staff were onboard. A security official told PTI that the aircraft’s pilot was rushed to the hospital.
A spokesperson from the airport told NDTV that the plane skidded off the runway and burst into flames as it attempted to take off. The CRJ200 aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 50 passengers, failed to gain altitude, slid off the runway, fell down an embankment, and caught fire. Videos from the scene show a massive blaze with thick smoke rising near Tribhuvan International Airport.
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Firefighters and the Nepal army are currently on-site, but the cause of the fire remains unknown.
The incident took place at Tribhuvan International Airport, a challenging tabletop airport situated atop a plateau, surrounded by deep gorges and valleys, making it one of the most dangerous airports in the world.
This marks Nepal’s deadliest aviation disaster since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed while approaching Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 people on board.
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