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Plane crashes just after takeoff from Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people as pilot is lone survivor
By Associated Press,
10 hours ago
A plane crashed Wednesday just after taking off from Nepal’s capital, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the lone survivor.
Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out all 18 bodies.
The pilot has injuries to his eyes but his life is not in any danger, said a doctor at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, where the pilot is being treated.
Smoke rises from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 24, 2024. AP
The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to media.
A press statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Saurya Airlines domestic plane, which was scheduled to head to the resort town of Pokhara, took off at 11:11 a.m. local time from Kathmandu airport and turned right but crashed moments later in the eastern section of the airport.
It is monsoon rain season in Kathmandu but was not raining at the time of the crash.
Visibility was low across the capital, however.
The Kathmandu airport, the main airport serving Nepal, is located inside a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides.
Rescuers are seen carrying the injured pilot of Saurya Airlines’ plane after it crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Nepal Police/AFP via Getty Images Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out all 18 bodies. AP
The passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on July 24, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage but all 18 others aboard killed, police in the Nepali capital. AFP via Getty Images
It is considered a challenging airport for pilots and bigger planes have to come through an opening on the mountain to land.
It is right next to the city, and is surrounded by houses and neighborhoods.
The bodies have been taken to the T.U. Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy. The airline manifest showed there were two pilots and 17 passengers on board.
Nepal army personnel sort through the debris after a domestic plane belonging to Saurya Airlines crashed just after taking off at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. AP
The crew and 16 passengers were Nepali nationals and one passenger was identified as a Yemeni national.
Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport in Nepal for international and domestic flights, has been closed as emergency crew and investigators began their work.
Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 on domestic routes.
Nepal army personnel carry a dead body after a domestic plane belonging to Saurya Airlines crashed. AP
In 2019, a Bangladeshi airliner crashed at Tribhuvan airport, killing 51 people while 20 on board survived.
An investigation confirmed the plane was misaligned with the runway and its pilot was disoriented and tried to land in “sheer desperation” when the plane crashed.
In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet landing in dense fog skidded off a slippery runway at the airport.
The plane was carrying 238 people but there were no serious injuries.
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