Eighteen persons have been killed in a Saurya Airlines plane crash at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), bodies of 18 persons have been collected while one injured has been rescued from the crash site and taken to hospital.
The Nepal Police Headquarters initially said that a total of 15 persons were killed while four were rescued from the crash site.
Three of the four rescued persons breathed their last while undergoing treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), according to the police.
The plane with 19 on board crashed while taking off from the TIA Wednesday morning.
The Bombardier plane (9N-AME/CRJ 200) that took off from Runway 02 crashed near Runway 20 to the east at 11:15 in the morning, according to the TIA.
Pilot of the plane Captain Manish Shakya, 37, was rescued and taken to the KMC Hospital, according to Spokesperson at the Kathmandu Valley Police Office SSP Dinesh Raj Mainali.
“Captain Manish Shakya was rescued at 11:34 and taken to KMC Hospital. He can speak. He has eye injury,” SSP Mainali said, adding that the fire was brought under control at 11:40 AM.
The plane fell at the open space behind the hangar of Buddha Air while leaving for Pokhara.
All 19 including the crew members were Saurya Airlines staffers, according to CAAN. The 19 include 18 Nepali nationals and a Yemeni national who was going to Pokhara for maintenance of the plane.
The bodies recovered from the crash site have been taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
