Plane crash in Nepal, 18 dead, one pilot rescued – July 24, 2024
Eyewitnesses told local media that the plane was taking off from the southern end of the runway and suddenly it overturned and hit the ground. The aircraft immediately caught fire and then fell into a ditch on the eastern side of the runway. A Plane crashed a Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal on Wednesday. The Saurya Airlines plane carrying 19 Passengers from Kathmandu to Pokhara slid on the ground after take off and caught fire within no time. 18 Passengers lost their lives in this accident and one pilot was rescued.
Eyewitnesses told local media that the plane wad taking off from the southern end of the runway. Suddenly the plane turned and after a jolt, it collided with the ground. As soon as it hit the ground, the aircraft caught fire and after that the plane fell into a ditch on the eastern side of the runway. After the accident, a cloud of smoke started appearing all over the airport. Police and firefighters are engaged in rescue operations at the accident site. According to a report in Nepal’s newspaper, ‘The Kathmandu Post’, as soon as the plane overturned, it caught fire and black smoke started coming out. Within no time, black smoke spread all over the airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has confirmed the death of 18 out of 19 people on board the plane. All these passengers were airline staff. The plane took off from Tribhuvan Airport for Pokhara at 11:11 am and crashed in the eastern part of the airport after travelling some distance on the runway. The pilot of the plane Mr Manish Shakya, survived the crash and was rescued from the crash site. He is being treated in the hospital.
It is being told that the plane was a Bombardier CRJ-200ER which was manufactured in the year 2003. The airline staff was taking the plane for repairs. The airline has said that the plane was going to Pokhara so that its technical inspection could be done after repairs. The aircraft took from runway 2 and crashed on runway 20.
