Video shows moment when plane crashed at Kathmandu airport killing 18

Kathmandu plane crash: The 17 technicians and two crew members onboard the plane were headed to Pokhara city when the aircraft crashed during take off at Kathmandu airport

The plane that crashed at Nepal’s Kathmandu airport on Wednesday, was carrying 17 employees of the operating local private company Saurya Airlines. Aboard the aircraft were 19 people when the accident took place.

The 17 technicians and two crew members onboard were headed to Pokhara city for maintenance checks when the plane crashed during take off at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and caught a massive fire at around 11 am.

Bodies of 18 passengers were recovered from the accident site by the officials while the rescued pilot, identified as M R Shakya, was rushed to a hospital for treatment, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal confirmed.

According to local media outlet Kathmandu Post, the accident took place as the plane suffered a runway excursion, resulting in a skid off on the platform during take off.

Videos and photos emerged from the accident site, showing thick smoke billowing from the destroyed aircraft while officials engaged in frantic search and rescue operations.

A 16-second video surfaced online showing the plane crashing directly into the runway, causing an immediate fire as flames erupted from the aircraft. The fire has been brought under control by the police and firefighters.

Business Standard could not independently verify the authenticity of this video.

Nepal police confirmed that of the 19 passengers, 18 were Nepalese and one was a Yemeni national. All of them were employees of the airline, it confirmed in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter).

It was not clear if the injured pilot belonged to Nepalese nationality.

One of the eyewitnesses told Kathmandu Post that they saw the aircraft “suddenly flip with the wing tip hitting the ground” as it was taking off from the southern end of the runway. It ended up crashing on the eastern side of the airport.

The airport has been shut down following the accident as a result of which about a dozen domestic and international flights were impacted.