Plane crash in Nepal: At least 18 people killed after Saurya Airlines plane slips off runway and crashes during take-off with only pilot 'rescued alive'

The Saurya Airlines plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to the city of Pokhara for maintenance checks, airport security chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said. Mr Thakuri also told local media the plane "caught fire" after it left the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital Kathmandu.

The airport has confirmed the incident at around 11am local time this morning (Wednesday 24 July). TV channels have shown the plane flying a little above the runway and then tilting before it crashed. They also showed firefighters trying to put out the fire and thick black smoke rising into the sky.

Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out the bodies of all 18 people who died. "Only the captain was rescued alive and is receiving treatment at a hospital," said Tej Bahadur Poudyal, the spokesman for Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport. The bodies have been taken to the T.U. Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy. 

The pilot was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital with eye injuries but his condition is not life-threatening, said a doctor at the hospital who was not authorised to speak to media. It is not yet clear what caused the crash.

Tribhuvan International Airport has been closed and emergency crew were working at the scene. It is monsoon rainy season in Kathmandu but was not raining at the time of the crash. However, visibility was low across the capital.