Plane crash at Nepal’s Kathmandu airport kills 18; pilot only survivor
Al Jazeera
Saurya Airlines plane carrying two crew members and 17 passengers crashes shortly after takeoff and catches fire.
A passenger plane has crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, killing 18 people, aviation officials say.
The pilot was the only survivor of Wednesday’s crash and was being treated in hospital, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
Nineteen people were on the test flight conducted by the domestic carrier Saurya Airlines, including technical staff members and two crew members.
The incident took place right after the 11:11am (05:26 GMT) takeoff of the 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200, the aviation authority said. The plane then turned right and crashed into the eastern section of the airport, the statement said. It was on its way to the resort town of of Pokhara. The cause of the crash is being investigated.
A doctor at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital told The Associated Press news agency that the pilot had suffered injuries to the eyes “but is not in any danger”.
