Plane crashes on takeoff in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu with 19 aboard

A plane carrying nineteen people crashed after takeoff in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, on Wednesday morning, according to a local newspaper, which cited an airport official.

The publication stated that rescue efforts by police and firefighters were underway when the Saurya Airlines plane crashed at approximately 11:00 am (05:15 GMT).

According to airport spokesman Premnath Thakur, “nineteen people, including aircrew, were aboard.”

News portal Khabarhub reported that the airplane had caught fire and was “releasing a significant plume of smoke”.

The flight was en-route to Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.

Saurya Airlines exclusively flies Bombardier CRJ 200 jets, according to its website.

Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

Nepal’s last major commercial flight accident was in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines service crashed while landing at Pokhara, killing all 72 aboard.

That accident was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.

Earlier that year a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.

Authorities have yet to release the identity of those aboard.