Plane crash in Nepal: CCTV shows moment aircraft crashes and explodes in fireball killing 18 people

The incident occurred at around 11am local time on Wednesday morning (24 July). TV channels showed 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.

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.

Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities 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 were 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.

According to Breaking Aviation News and Videos on X, formerly Twitter, “an emergency Cabinet meeting has decided to form a probe committee to investigate the crash.” Communications Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, who is also the government spokesperson said: "A five-member committee has been set up under the leadership of Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, former director general of CAAN. The committee has been given 45 days to submit its report".