Jul 24, 2024 12:19 PM IST
Nepal plane crash: 19 people, including aircrew, were aboard the Pokhara-bound plane which met with the accident at around 11 am.
Nepal plane crash updates: A Saurya Airlines aircraft crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal’s Kathmandu on Wednesday, The Kathmandu Post reported. Nineteen people, including aircrew, were aboard the Pokhara-bound plane which met with the accident at around 11 am, said Premnath Thakur, TIA spokesperson, the report added.
Police and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the accident site.
Nepal plane crash: What we know about Saurya Airlines mishap
- News portal Khabarhub reported that the Saurya Airlines airplane had caught fire and was “releasing a significant plume of smoke”.
- The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital, a security official deployed at the airport told news agency PTI without giving further details.
- A fire that broke out from the aircraft has been put off, he added. Police and firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the accident site. Details about the condition of the passengers were not known.
- The Saurya Airlines 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 averages about one flight disaster a year. Since 2010, the Himalayan destination has witnessed at least 12 fatal plane crashes, including the latest one.
In January 2023, a tragic accident took place when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed near the central city of Pokhara. All 72 people on board, including passengers and crew members, lost their lives in the incident. The aircraft plummeted into a steep gorge, breaking into pieces and bursting into flames as it approached Pokhara.
On May 29, 2022, a Tara Air plane crashed in Mustang district, resulting in the fatalities of all 22 individuals aboard.
In 2018, a tragic accident occurred near Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport involving a US-Bangla Airlines flight. The plane crash-landed, causing the death of 51 people, while 20 others sustained serious injuries.
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