Drumil Modi, Pune
A Saurya Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday just after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, killing 18 people and injuring the pilot who is the only one to come out alive from the incident.
All the people on board including the crew were Nepali except for a passenger who was from Yemen. All 18 bodies have been pulled out of the wreckage.
The Mitsubishi CRJ 200 plane was headed to Pokhara for maintenance work. The passengers in the plane were mechanics or airline employees as per airport officials. The aircraft caught fire on impact releasing a huge cloud of smoke. The emergency responders managed to quicky extinguish the fire.
The pilot has an eye injury but apart from that he is completely out of danger. He is currently being treated at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital.
The plane took off at 11:11 am from Kathmandu airport and crashed at 11:15 in the easter section of the airport itself as per the Civil Aviation Authority.
Kathmandu airport is located inside a valley surrounded by mountains it is also situated next to the city which makes it one of the most challenging airports for landing and taking off.
The aviation industry in Nepal has been facing safety challenges for years. Due to safety concerns The European Union (EU) has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace. Due to the close proximity of the Himalayas the weather in the area stays unpredictable further complicating the aviation safety.
All 18 bodies have been taken to the Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy. The forensics department will release the bodies to the families in a day or two.
The co-pilot Sasant Katuwal had been a pilot for just three years. He had gotten his pilot training from France and was going to further continue his training in Germany as per his family.
Nepal has had a long history of aviation accidents. In January 2023, Nepal witnessed its biggest aviation crash in 30 years resulting in the death of 72 people, before that in 1992 all 167 people aboard on Pakistan International Airlines plane lost their lives as the plane crashed as it approached Kathmandu Airport.