Nepal: Plane crashes in Kathmandu with 19 on board

The Saurya Airlines plane was operating a test flight from the capital, Kathmandu, to the tourist hub of Pokhara. Nepal's military said that rescue work is ongoing.

ITS NOT RESCUE ITS RETRIVAL OF DEAD BODIES

The incident occurred when the plane skidded off the runway in Kathmandu

Image: Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS


A plane crash in Nepal killed all 18 passengers on board on Wednesday and left the pilot injured, police said.

The Saurya Airlines plane crashed during take-off on a test flight from Nepal's capital of Kathmandu to Pokhara.

"Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner," police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki told the AFP news agency.

"We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem."

The Nepali military responded to the fatal crash

Image: NepaliArmyHQ via X/via REUTERS

Kathmandu airport general manager Jagannath Niroula told AFP further details were "still being confirmed."

Footage of the incident showed a large smoke plume with firefighters at the scene.

"Rescue work is going on," Nepal's military said.

Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 regional jet on domestic routesImage: Agniia Galdanova/AP/picture alliance

Nepal's air safety record

Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 regional jet on domestic routes.

Nepal's aviation sector has a poor safety record due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from its airspace.

More to follow...

zc/rm (AFP, Reuters, AP)