Tragedy in Kathmandu: Saurya Airlines crash claims 18 lives

A Saurya Airlines aircraft carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, leaving 18 dead. Only the pilot has survived. The ill-fated flight, bound for Pokhara, met with disaster around 11am today, according to news agency PTI.

Premnath Thakur, spokesperson for the airport, confirmed the crash and reported the tragic loss of lives. Police and firefighters immediately launched rescue operations at the scene. A security official revealed that the pilot was rushed to hospital but refrained from providing further details.

Eyewitness accounts described the harrowing moments as the plane caught fire, releasing a significant plume of smoke, reported news portal Khabarhub. Emergency services swiftly extinguished the blaze, but the damage had already been done.

The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ 200 jet, was part of Saurya Airlines’ fleet, primarily used to connect hard-to-reach areas and tourist destinations across Nepal. Despite the country’s burgeoning air industry, safety concerns remain prevalent due to inadequate training and maintenance. Consequently, the European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace.

Nepal has a troubling history of aviation disasters, averaging one flight catastrophe per year. Since 2010, there have been at least 12 fatal crashes.

In January 2023, a Yeti Airlines flight tragically crashed near Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board. Similarly, in May 2022, a Tara Air plane went down in the Mustang district, resulting in 22 fatalities.

Another notable disaster occurred in 2018, when a US-Bangla Airlines flight crash-landed near Kathmandu, claiming 51 lives and seriously injuring 20 others, reported Hindustan Times.

In related news, Taliban officials confirmed that a plane, en route from Pattaya, Thailand, to Russia, crashed in Afghanistan on January 21, resulting in the loss of two lives, while four passengers managed to survive. The chartered Dassault Aviation AM.PA Falcon 10 aircraft took off from the U-Tapao International Airport in Pattaya on January 20 with six passengers bound for Moscow, Russia.

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