Nepal: Pilot Only Survivor of Deadly Plane Crash

18 people were killed after a plane crashed and caught fire while it was taking off from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu on July 24, Wednesday.

Nineteen people were on the Saurya Airlines test flight which included technical staff members of the airline and two crew.

According to the BBC, the pilot, who is receiving treatment in hospital, is the only survivor of the plane crash.

“Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner,”

“We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem.” police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki told the AFP news agency.

A Saurya Airlines official said the plane was a 50-seater CRJ200 aircraft.

A press statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Saurya Airlines plane had taken off at 11:11 AM from Kathmandu and was heading to resort town of Pokhara.

“It is reported that the fire was brought under control and the rescue work was started immediately and the dead bodies of 18 people were collected and 1 injured person was rescued and taken to the hospital,” the statement in part read.

In 2023, NNepal witnessed its worst plane crash in more than 30 years.

This is when at least 68 people died when a Yeti Airlines flight went down near Pokhara.