KATHMANDU, JULY 24
The death toll has reached 18 in the Saurya Airlines plane crash at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) this morning.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), 18 bodies were recovered from the crash site, while one person was rescued from the debris. The pilot, Manish Shakya, is currently receiving treatment at KMC Hospital.
The crash occurred shortly after the Saurya Airlines plane, 9N-AME (CRJ7), took off for Pokhara from Kathmandu at around 11:11 AM. The plane veered right off the runway immediately after takeoff and crashed east of the runway.
The rescue operation was promptly conducted, and the fire was extinguished, CAAN reported.
There were 19 people on board the plane with all of them being airline staff.
The plane was being taken to Pokhara for maintenance at the maintenance hangar at Pokhara Regional Airport.
Following the crash, the Tribhuvan International Airport was closed to facilitate rescue operations. With the completion of the rescue operation, the airport has now resumed operations.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased are being taken to the Teaching Hospital for a postmortem, police added.
