Some 18 people were killed after a plane crashed and caught fire while it was taking off from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu yesterday.
The pilot, who is currently receiving treatment in hospital, is the only survivor of the fatal accident.
Nineteen people were on the Saurya Airlines test flight, including technical staff members of the airline and two crew members.
Nepal’s aviation industry has a poor safety record – that has been attributed to multiple factors over the years, from unpredictable weather to lax regulations, reports the BBC.
The incident happened at around 11:15 local time (05:30 GMT), a few minutes after the plane took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to a statement by the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s search and rescue coordination centre.
The Saurya Airlines test flight yesterday was headed to Pokhara, a popular tourism destination.
