Eighteen folks 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 stated.
“Shortly after takeoff … the plane veered off to the best and crashed on the east aspect of the runway,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal stated in an announcement.
Eighteen of these on board had been Nepali residents whereas one engineer was from Yemen, Saurya stated.
“Solely the captain was rescued alive and is receiving therapy at a hospital,” stated Tej Bahadur Poudyal, a spokesman for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Worldwide Airport.
Tv photographs confirmed firefighters attempting to place out the blaze and thick black smoke rising into the sky. In addition they confirmed the aircraft flying a bit of above the runway after which tilting to its proper earlier than it crashed.
Different visuals confirmed rescue employees rummaging by the charred stays of the aircraft, strewn in lush inexperienced fields, and our bodies being carried to ambulances on stretchers as native residents appeared on.
“The aircraft was scheduled to endure upkeep for a month starting Thursday. … It’s unclear why it crashed,” stated Mukesh Khanal, head of selling at Saurya Airways.
Kathmandu airport was closed quickly after the crash however reopened inside hours, officers stated.
A Saurya Airways official stated the aircraft was a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-200 plane.
Nepal has been criticised for a poor air security file, exacerbated by many airports within the Himalayan nation being situated in distant hills and close to peaks shrouded in clouds. Nepal is house to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains.
Situated within the coronary heart of the Kathmandu Valley, the nation’s most important airport is ringed by mountains, affecting wind instructions and depth within the space and making takeoffs and landings a problem for pilots.
Almost 350 folks 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 folks.
Most not too long ago, no less than 72 folks had been killed in a Yeti Airways crash in January 2023 that was later attributed to the pilots mistakenly chopping off energy.
