A Saurya Airlines plane with 19 people on board has slipped off the runway and crashed at Kathmandu airport, state television said. According to Reuters, 18 bodies have been recovered after the crash. The plane, en route to Pokhara, was carrying nineteen people, including the aircrew, when the accident occurred around 11 am.
Rescue operations are currently underway. The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told PTI without giving further details. A fire that broke out from the aircraft has been put off, he added. Police and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the accident site. Details about the condition of the passengers were not known.
Last year in January, a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near Nepal’s Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board. The plane plummeted into a steep gorge and broke into pieces before bursting into flames. An investigation report by the government found that the crash was probably caused due to pilot’s error.