Saurya Airlines crash in Kathmandu claims 18 lives, Pilot sole survivor; National flag to be lowered to half-mast

Kathmandu / July 24: A Saurya Airlines plane crash at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) this morning claimed the lives of 18 people.

The Bombardier CRJ 200 aircraft, with the call sign 9N-AME, crashed shortly after taking off for Pokhara at around 11:11 AM. The plane veered right off runway 02 immediately after takeoff and crashed east of runway 20. Smoke billowed from the wreckage, visible from miles away, as rescuers rushed to the site.According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aircraft was carrying 19 airline staff members, including the pilot and co-pilot. The plane was en route to Pokhara for a complete engine check at the maintenance hangar at Pokhara Regional Airport.

The sole survivor, pilot Manish Shakya, was rescued from the wreckage and rushed to KMC Hospital in Sinamangal, Kathmandu. He is receiving treatment for head, eye, and leg injuries.

Meanwhile, 18 bodies were recovered from the crash site. Co-Pilot Sushant Katuwal was among those who died.Firefighters and security personnel, including Nepal Police and the Nepali Army, promptly responded to the scene. They managed to extinguish the fire and recover the bodies of the deceased, which have been sent to Teaching Hospital for postmortem examinations, informed CAAN.

Following the crash, TIA was temporarily closed to facilitate rescue operations, affecting both domestic and international flights. Domestic flights were halted at various airports, and international flights were either put on hold or diverted. After the completion of rescue operations, the airport reopened and normal flight operations resumed.

According to the airline, all the deceased were airline staff. Apart from the pilot crew of the flight, the passengers on board were identified as: Amit Man Maharjan, Sagar Acharya, Dilip Verma, Manu Raj Sharma, Ashwin Niroula, Sudip Lal Joshi, Sarbesh Marasain, Shyam Bindukar, Navaraj Ale, Rajaram Acharya, Priza Katiwada, Adhiraj Sharma, Uddhab Puri, Yagya Pd Paudyal, Santosh Mahato, Punya Ratna Sahi, and Aref Reda, a Yemeni national and an engineer with the airline. Although the airlines has claimed that all the deceased were the airline staff, it has been reported that there were also family member of the staff in the flight.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed deep sorrow over the incident. He visited the site to inquire about the cause of the crash with Civil Aviation Authority officials and urged the nation to remain patient and united during this tragic time. A team including Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badrilal Pandey, and Chairman of the State Affairs Committee Ramhari Khatiwada visited the airport to gather details about the incident and provide necessary directives.

National flag to be lowered to half-mast

The government has decided to lower the Nepali national flag to half-mast on Thursday in mourning for those who lost their lives in the Saurya Airlines plane crash in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

An emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers decided to lower the flag to half-mast and mourn the death of Saurya plane passengers.

According to the government’s spokesperson and Communication and Information Technology Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, the meeting formed a five-member inspection commission regarding the plane crash.

An aircraft of Saurya Airlines crashed near TIA on Wednesday killing 18 on board leaving only a pilot survived.

KMC Hospital reports Captain Shakya’s health condition as critical

The Kathmandu Medical Hospital (KMC) reported that Captain Manish Shakya remains in critical condition following injuries sustained in the Saurya Airlines plane accident.

Captain Shakya is currently undergoing a crucial eye and spinal cord surgery and he is admitted in Neuro- Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as reported by the KMC Hospital.

According to KMC Hospital, a neurosurgeon must perform an operation due to his head injuries, specifically above the eye.

Similarly, specialist doctors including an orthopedics, neurosurgeon and physicians are examining his health.

Shakya was the lone survivor in the accident, while other 18 individuals onboard the ill-fated aircraft died in the crash that took place seconds after the takeoff for Pokhara on Wednesday. Captain Shakya was successfully rescued in a critical condition by the team of firefighters and security personnel.

Further details regarding the condition of captain Shakya are yet to be released.