Nepal plane crash kills 18: Rescuers dig through wreckage at accident site

Eighteen people died as a Saurya Airlines flight skidded off the runway while taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning. (PTI Photo)

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   Eighteen people died as a Saurya Airlines flight skidded off the runway while taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning. (PTI Photo)

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   The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, Airport Security Chief Arjun Chand Thakuri told news agency Reuters. (PTI Photo)

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   Pilot Manish Shankya has injuries to his eyes but his life is not in any danger, said a doctor at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, where the pilot is being treated. The rescue operations are being led by the Nepal army. (PTI Photo)

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   The bodies have been taken to the T.U. Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy. (PTI Photo)

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   According to eyewitnesses quoted by The Kathmandu Post, the plane flipped after the wing tip hit the ground while taking off. They said that the plane immediately caught fire and plunged into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway. (PTI Photo)

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   The plane belonged to local Saurya Airlines, media said. Saurya operates domestic flights in Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets, both around 20 years old, according to Flight Radar 24. (PTI Photo)

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   This incident adds to Nepal’s long history of aviation disasters, worsened by the country's challenging mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, aging aircraft, and inadequate regulatory oversight. (PTI Photo)

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   According to the Aviation Safety database, there have been at least 27 fatal plane crashes in Nepal over the past three decades. (PTI Photo)

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   In January last year, 72 people, including five Indians, had died after a Yeti Airlines flight had crashed Sunday just before landing in Nepal’s tourist city of Pokhara. (PTI Photo)

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   The deadliest incident occurred in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 people. (PTI Photo)