18 Killed in Plane Crash in Nepal; Pilot Hospitalized

According to police in the Nepali capital, AFP, a passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday. All 18 people on board were killed, but the pilot was saved from the wreckage.

With a dismal history of aviation safety, Nepal has witnessed numerous fatal light aircraft and helicopter crashes over the years in the Himalayan Republic.

Nepali police spokesman Dan Karki stated that 17 employees of the company, as well as two crew members, were on board the Saurya Airlines flight.

“The pilot has been rescued and is being treated,” he said. “Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem.”

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the deceased foreign national was a citizen of Yemen.

Shortly after takeoff, according to an airport news release, the aircraft “veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway.”

It stated that the survivor’s condition in the hospital was critical.

The plane caught fire after it crashed, according to Ram Kumar K.C., who owns a tire shop close to the scene of the accident and spoke to AFP.

“We were about to run to the site but then there was an explosion so we ran away again,” the 48-year-old said.

Gyanendra Bhul of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority told AFP that the flight was being carried out for either technical or maintenance reasons, but he did not provide any other information.

The military in Nepal released photos of the aftermath, which showed the fuselage of the aircraft broken apart and reduced to a charred shell.

There were about a dozen soldiers dressed in camouflage standing atop the debris, with fire retardant covering the surrounding ground.

Later, dozens of distraught family members gathered in front of the nearby hospital where the bodies were taken after the collision.

“I am heartbroken,” Rajan Acharya, the brother of a safety officer aboard the flight, told AFP. “He was my brother, but even more than that, we were best friends.”

The aircraft was scheduled to travel between Kathmandu and Pokhara, a significant tourist destination, on the busiest air route in Nepal.