At least 18 people were killed after a plane crashed and caught fire while it was taking off from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu on Wednesday.
The pilot, who is currently receiving treatment in hospital, is the only survivor of the fatal accident.
Nineteen people were on the Saurya Airlines test flight, including technical staff members of the airline and two crew members.
Nepal’s aviation industry has a poor safety record – that has been attributed to multiple factors over the years, from unpredictable weather to lax regulations.
The Saurya Airlines test flight on Wednesday was headed to Pokhara, a popular tourism destination.
Videos posted online showed the plane being enveloped in fire and smoke. Fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the spot after the incident.
The incident happened at around 11:15 local time (05:30 GMT), a few minutes after the plane took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to a statement by the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination centre.
The statement said the plane “turned right and crashed on the east side of the runway”.
“It was reported that the fire was brought under control and the rescue work was started immediately,” it added.
“The dead bodies of 18 people were collected and one injured person was rescued and taken to the hospital.”
Seventeen of those who died are Nepali while one is a Yemeni national.
Airport chief Jagannath Niraula told BBC Nepali that the accident “happened as soon as it left the ground, in not even a minute”, however airport authorities have not been able to confirm the cause of the accident.
Nepali police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki also confirmed the deaths to BBC Nepali.
An airport official said “some cracking noises were heard” from the plane.
Nepal has been criticised for its poor air safety record. In January 2023, at least 72 people were killed in a Yeti Airlines crash that was later attributed to its pilots mistakenly cutting the power.
It was deadliest air crash in Nepal since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu Airport.
Saruya Airlines operates flights to five destinations within Nepal, with a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets, according to the company’s website.
