Kathmandu: A passenger plane in Nepal’s capital crashed on the runway during take-off and burst into flames.
According to the international news agency, there were 2 crew members and 17 passengers on board the Surya Airlines flight which was the victim of an accident, who were employees of the same airline company.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal officials told AFP that the flight was being operated either for technical purposes or for maintenance and performance testing.
During take-off, the plane hit the runway and caught fire as it fell, causing the plane to completely burn to ashes.
During the rescue operations, 18 bodies, including a foreigner, were removed from the plane, while the pilot has been shifted to the hospital with serious injuries.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, but the local media claimed that the plane had not yet taken off, but the accident occurred due to skidding while running on the runway and the plane caught fire.
However, this claim of the local media could not be confirmed by independent sources.
A plane crash in Nepal in January 2023 killed 72 people. Earlier this year, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
Similarly, in 1992, all 167 people on board a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when the plane crashed near Kathmandu airport.
It should be noted that Nepal has some of the most dangerous runways in the world surrounded by high and snow-capped peaks and landing here is a challenge even for an experienced pilot.
