18 people killed in air crash at TIA

KATHMANDU, JULY 24 : A total of 18 people have died in the Saurya Airlines plane crash in Kathmandu this morning. The Pokhara-bound airplane with call sign 9N-AME met with an accident during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport. There were 19 passengers on board, including crew members.

The plane skidded off the runway and fell into a ditch on the east side of the runway. The dead bodies of 18 people onboard the ill-fated plane, which were scattered all over, were retrieved, said SSP Dambar BK, the security officer deployed at the airport. Preparations are underway to take the retrieved bodies to the Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj, shared SSP BK. One of the pilots of the plane has been rescued alive, he added.

The aircraft, which was flying to Pokhara with staff and technicians for maintenance, crashed accidentally. Domestic flights at TIA have been affected in the wake of the crash.