Aircraft crashes during takeoff at Kathmandu airport

Kathmandu: An aircraft belonging to a private airline company with 19 people on board crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning.

At least 19 people, including aircrew, were aboard the Pokhara-bound Saurya Airlines plane which met with the accident at around 11 am, sources said.

The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told PTI without giving further details.  And, 18 bodies were retrieved from the crash site.

Police and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the accident site.

The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told PTI without giving further details.

Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers. But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance. The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

Nepal averages about one flight disaster a year. Since 2010, the Himalayan destination has witnessed at least 12 fatal plane crashes, including the latest one.

In January 2023, a tragic accident took place when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near the central city of Pokhara. All 72 people on board, including passengers and crew members, lost their lives in the incident. The aircraft plummeted into a steep gorge, breaking into pieces and bursting into flames as it approached Pokhara.

On May 29, 2022, a Tara Air plane crashed in Mustang district, resulting in the fatalities of all 22 individuals aboard.

In 2018, a tragic accident occurred near Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport involving a US-Bangla Airlines flight. The plane crash-landed, causing the death of 51 people, while 20 others sustained serious injuries.