The accident occurred at 11:15 a.m. on July 24 (local time). A small Saurya Airlines plane carrying a total of 19 people slid off the runway while taking off from the capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal.
Images released by Nepal police showed thick smoke rising from the burning plane on the airport runway.
The aviation authority said the plane was on its way for technical maintenance. Among the 19 people involved in the accident were 2 flight crew members and 17 technicians who went to Pokhara city for maintenance checks.
Rescue efforts were launched immediately and the situation was quickly brought under control. However, 18 people on the plane died, only the pilot survived.
"The pilot has been rescued and is being treated," Nepal police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki said.
According to CNN , the accident once again shows how dangerous air travel is in Nepal. The country is often considered one of the most dangerous places to fly due to many factors, including mountainous terrain and sudden changes in weather.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization's 2019 safety report, aircraft with 19 seats or less are more likely to have accidents due to these difficulties. Nepal has improved its flight safety standards in recent years but many challenges remain, including the use of old aircraft and lack of investment in maintenance, adding to risks.
Last year, Nepal witnessed its worst plane crash in more than 30 years when at least 68 people died in a Yeti Airlines flight that crashed near Pokhara.
In May 2022, a Tara Air flight departing from Pokhara crashed into the mountains, killing 22 people.
In early 2018, another US-Bangla Airlines flight from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed upon landing and caught fire, killing 51 people.
And in 2016, a Tara Air flight also crashed while flying the same route as the 2023 crash.
