A passenger plane carrying 19 persons crashed during takeoff in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday morning.
The plane from Saurya Airlines crashed at around 11:15 am (0530 GMT), according to Nepal’s military.
The military said rescue work is ongoing with help from the army’s quick response team, while fire crews are working to put out the fire from the wreckage.
More details are still being confirmed, said Jagannath Niroula, general manager of Kathmandu airport.
The Kathmandu Post reported that the plane had 19 persons on board, including the air crew.
Khabarhub, a news portal, reported that the plane caught fire after skidding on the runway, releasing a large plume of smoke.
The plane was heading to Pokhara, a popular tourist destination in Nepal.
Saurya Airlines only flies Bombardier CRJ 200 jets, according to their website.
Nepal’s air industry has grown in recent years, transporting goods and people to hard-to-reach areas and serving foreign trekkers and climbers. However, it has faced safety issues due to poor training and maintenance.
The European Union has banned all Nepali airlines from its airspace over safety concerns.
Nepal’s poor aviation safety record is also due to its challenging geography. The country has some of the world’s most difficult runways, surrounded by snow-capped peaks, and weather conditions in the mountains can change quickly, making flying dangerous.
Nepal’s last major plane crash was in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed while landing in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board.
That was Nepal’s deadliest crash since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing all 167 people on board.
Earlier in 1992, a Thai Airways plane also crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.
Authorities have not yet released the identities of the people on board.
