North News

Chandigarh, July 24

In a devastating incident, 18 people were killed after a small plane crashed and caught fire while taking off from Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, on Wednesday. The plane was carrying 17 technicians and two crew members to Pokhara city to repair another aircraft. According to the BBC, the plane crash claimed the lives of seventeen Nepali nationals and one Yemeni national, who was an engineer. Police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki informed BBC Nepali that the pilot suffered injuries to his eyes and forehead but was not in a life-threatening condition. According to The Kathmandu Post, Captain MR Shakya was rescued from the crash site and admitted to KMC Hospital in Sinamangal for treatment. The aircraft experienced a runway excursion and plunged into a gorge on the eastern side of the airport.

The BBC report stated that the flight was en route to Pokhara for a routine maintenance check when it crashed around 11:15 local time (05:30 GMT), shortly after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport. The Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination center confirmed the incident. Reports indicate that the plane was scheduled for a month-long maintenance starting Thursday, and the cause of the crash remains unclear.

Jagannath Niraula, the airport chief, mentioned that the accident occurred almost immediately after takeoff, within a minute. While the exact cause of the disaster has not been confirmed, Mr. Niraula suggested that an initial assessment indicated the plane flew in the wrong direction. “As soon as it took off, it turned right when it should have turned left,” he told BBC Nepali.

“Photos showing rescue workers navigating through the wreckage, with large parts of the plane charred and blackened. Some images depicted parts of the plane inside an air freight container. Fire engines and ambulances quickly arrived at the scene following the incident,” the BBC report said.