A small jet slid off the runway and burst into flames while taking off from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (Nepal) on Wednesday, resulting in the discovery of eighteen bodies. Since 2000, over 350 individuals have perished in plane and helicopter crashes around the country.
K.P. Sharma Oli, Nepal’s prime minister, visited the airport crash site and requested people to “be patient” in a social media post without further explanation. The government spokeswoman urgently convened a cabinet meeting to appoint a commission tasked with investigating the tragedy.
The sole survivor and pilot’s condition
The only survivor of the crash was the pilot, who was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital for treatment. According to a doctor cited by AP, the pilot suffered eye damage but was not in danger. According to airport security chief Arjun Chand Thakuri, the aircraft, operated by local airline Saurya Airlines, was flying to Pokhara with two crew members and 17 technicians for maintenance inspections. The cause of the slip remains unknown. “The plane skidded off the runway and smashed into a field east of the runway,” Thakuri explained to Reuters.
Visuals of the scene: a television video showed firefighters fighting the fire as heavy black smoke billowed into the sky. Rescue personnel are combing through the plane’s burnt remnants, which are dispersed across lush green fields in other images.
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Airport closure and present weather conditions
Emergency teams are continuing to work as they have closed Tribhuvan International Airport. Despite the monsoon season in Kathmandu, the crash occurred during a period of low visibility. According to Flight Radar 24, Saurya Airlines runs domestic flights within Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional planes, both of which are approximately 20 years old.
