KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A plane crashed Wednesday shortly after taking off from Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring the pilot, who was the sole survivor.
Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities had recovered all 18 bodies. The pilot suffered injuries to his eye but his life was not in danger, said a doctor at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital where he was being treated, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
According to a press statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the domestic Saurya Airlines plane, bound for the resort town of Pokhara, took off from Kathmandu airport at 11:11 a.m. local time, made a right turn and crashed on the east side of the airport a few minutes later.
It was monsoon rainy season in Kathmandu but it was not raining at the time of the crash, but visibility was poor across the capital.
Kathmandu Airport, Nepal’s main airport, is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides. It is considered a challenging airport for pilots, with larger planes having to land through openings in the mountains. Kathmandu Airport is located right next to the city and is surrounded by houses and residential areas.
The body was sent to TU Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu for autopsy. According to the airline’s passenger manifest, there were two pilots and 17 passengers on board. Sixteen of the crew and passengers were identified as Nepalese nationals, while one passenger was identified as a Yemeni national.
Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal’s main airport for international and domestic flights, was closed as emergency rescue teams and investigators began work.
Saurya Airlines operates Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft on domestic routes.
In 2019, a Bangladeshi passenger jet crashed at Tribhuvan Airport, killing 51 people and leaving 20 passengers alive. An investigation determined that the plane had deviated from the runway and that the pilot had become disoriented at the time of the crash and attempted to land in “utter desperation”.
In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet skidded off the airport’s slippery runway while attempting to land in heavy fog. None of the 238 people on board were seriously injured.
