Eighteen people lost their lives when a plane crashed and caught fire during take-off from Kathmandu, Nepal.
The sole survivor is the pilot, who is currently receiving treatment in the hospital after being rescued from the burning wreckage.
The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying 17 company employees, including technical staff, and two crew members and was headed for the Himalayan tourism hub of Pokhara in western Nepal.
Nepal’s aviation industry has faced criticism for its poor safety record, attributed to factors such as unpredictable weather and lax regulations.
According to the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination center, the flight was conducting a routine maintenance check when it crashed around 11:15 local time (05:30 GMT), shortly after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport.
Police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki informed BBC Nepali that the pilot sustained injuries to his eyes and forehead but his life is not in danger.
A witness who was inside a nearby shop during the accident described hearing a loud noise, reminiscent of a truck overturning. “We ran after we saw the crash. The plane hit the ground and caught fire. We were about to run to the site but then there was an explosion, so we ran away again,” he told AFP news agency.
Jagannath Niraula, the airport chief, stated that the accident occurred almost immediately after takeoff. While the cause has not been confirmed, an initial assessment indicated that the plane had flown in the wrong direction.
“As soon as it took off, it turned right, when it should have turned left,” Mr. Niraula told BBC Nepali.
Footage of the incident showed the plane tilting above the runway before crashing and bursting into flames.
Rescue workers navigated through the charred wreckage, with parts of the plane appearing inside an air freight container.
Fire engines and ambulances quickly arrived at the scene.
Among the deceased, 17 were Nepali, and one was a Yemeni national working as an engineer. “The plane was scheduled to undergo maintenance for a month beginning Thursday… It is unclear why it crashed,” said Mukesh Khanal, the marketing head of Saurya Airlines, according to Reuters.
Kathmandu’s airport temporarily closed after the crash but reopened within hours.
