Kathmandu: In the tragic Saurya Airlines plane crash in Nepal's national capital, eighteen people were killed, including three members of the same family. Manuraj Sharma, employed as a technical staff member at the ill-fated Saurya Airlines, his wife Priza Khatiwada, who worked as a computer operator at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, and their son Adhiraj Sharma, all died in the accident, Kathmandu Post reported.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) confirmed the death toll of 18 from the crash of the Saurya Airlines aircraft, identified as Flight 9 NAME bound for Pokhara. Departing Kathmandu at 11:11 am on Wednesday, the flight suffered a runway excursion and subsequently crashed into a gorge on the eastern side of Tribhuvan International Airport. Captain MR Shakya was rescued and is currently undergoing treatment at KMC Hospital in Sinamangal, as reported by Nepal Police.
MOMENT before plane crashed in Nepal
Who was on the ill-fated plane?
The plane, carrying two crew members and 17 technicians, was going for regular maintenance to Nepal's new Pokhara airport, which opened in January and is equipped with aircraft maintenance hangars, they said. "Shortly after takeoff ... the aircraft veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway," the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
Eighteen of those on board were Nepali citizens while one engineer was from Yemen, Saurya said. "Only the captain was rescued alive and is receiving treatment at a hospital," said Tej Bahadur Poudyal, the spokesman for Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport.
Television visuals showed firefighters trying to put out the blaze and thick black smoke rising into the sky. They also showed the plane flying a little above the runway and then tilting to its right before it crashed. Other visuals showed rescue workers rummaging through the charred remains of the plane, strewn in lush green fields, and bodies being carried to ambulances on stretchers as local residents looked on.
"The plane was scheduled to undergo maintenance for a month beginning Thursday ... It is unclear why it crashed," said Mukesh Khanal, marketing head of Saurya Airlines. Kathmandu airport was closed temporarily following the crash but reopened within hours, officials said.
(With inputs from agency)
