Nepal plane crash: 18 people killed, pilot is sole survivor

• The accident occurred when the plane, from the Nepalese airline Saurya Airlines, went off the runway during the takeoff maneuver | Photo: EFE

The pilot of the plane that crashed on Wednesday, July 24 in Nepal while taking off from Kathmandu International Airport is the only survivor of the accident, airport authorities informed local media, who reported the deaths of the other 18 people who were traveling on board the aircraft.

The pilot is currently being taken to hospital, airport spokesman Subash Jha said in statements reported by the Nepalese media The Katmandú Postwhich reported the death of the remaining occupants.

The accident occurred when the plane, belonging to Nepalese airline Saurya Airlines, went off the runway during takeoff, the spokesman had previously informed EFE.

The plane was already in the air when it quickly tilted to one side and fell back onto the runway, images from airport security cameras broadcast by Nepalese media showed.

Videos posted by local television Kantipur TV show the aircraft completely destroyed, with part of its fuselage burned, near the airport, and surrounded by dozens of rescue workers.

EFE

The cause of the accident is not yet known. Authorities have not provided details on the identity of the victims.

The plane was heading toward the city of Pokhara, a popular gateway to the Himalayas and a popular air route for foreign tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the world’s highest mountain range.

Air crashes are frequent in Nepal

Nepal, where air accidents frequently occur due to the poor condition of aircraft and airport infrastructure, rapidly changing weather and adverse topography, has been the subject of repeated international sanctions for the lack of controls.

Nepal has been the subject of repeated international sanctions for its lack of controls, and the European Union has banned Nepalese airlines from entering its territory since 2013.

Timeline of air crashes in Nepal

EFE

In January 2023, a Nepalese Yeti Airlines flight crashed in Pokhara with 72 people on board, the worst incident in a decade in the Asian country. It was attributed to human error and left no survivors.

On May 29, 2022, a Tara Air Twin Otter crashed while en route from the same airport to Jomsom, a route of just 20 minutes that overflows the Himalayas. All 22 occupants died.

A US-Bangla airline plane from Dhaka crashed in March 2018 while trying to land, with 67 passengers and four crew on board, leaving around 50 dead.

That same year, on September 28, 19 people died when a Sita Air Dornier plane caught fire after a bird collided with the aircraft shortly after taking off from the capital’s airport.

Two years earlier, in February 2016, a Twin Otter from Nepalese airline Tara Air crashed after taking off from Pokhara airport, killing all 23 people on board.

On 16 February 2014, all 18 people on board a Twin Otter aircraft were killed when a Nepal Airlines plane, which had departed from Pokhara bound for Jumla, crashed. Poor visibility due to snow was cited as the possible cause of the accident.

The most serious accident recorded in the history of Nepal was on 28 September 1992, when an Airbus-300 of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) crashed during approach manoeuvres to Kathmandu airport, causing the death of 167 people, including thirty Spaniards.

Two months earlier, one of the highest number of deaths had already been recorded, with 113 passengers on board, who were on board an Airbus A310-300 of the Thai company Thai Airways, after it crashed on landing.

With information from EFE

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