Plane crashes just after takeoff in Nepal, killing 18 people

A plane has crashed just after taking off from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, killing 18 people and injuring a pilot who was the lone survivor.

Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities pulled out all 18 bodies on Wednesday.

The pilot had injuries to his eyes but his life was not in any danger, said a doctor at Kathmandu Medical College Hospital, where the pilot was being treated. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak to media.

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A press statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said the Saurya Airlines domestic plane, which was scheduled to head to the resort town of Pokhara, took off at 11.11am (3.26pm AEST) from Kathmandu airport and turned right but crashed moments later in the eastern section of the airport.

It is monsoon rain season in Kathmandu but was not raining at the time of the crash. Visibility was low across the capital, however.

The Kathmandu airport, the main airport serving Nepal, is located inside a valley surrounded by mountains on most sides.

It is considered a challenging airport for pilots and bigger planes have to come through an opening on the mountain to land. It is right next to the city, and is surrounded by houses and neighbourhoods.

The bodies were taken to the TU Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for autopsy.

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The airline manifest showed there were two pilots and 17 passengers on board. The crew and 16 passengers were Nepali nationals with one identified as a foreigner, but no nationality was disclosed.

Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport in Nepal for international and domestic flights, has been closed as emergency crew and investigators began their work.

Saurya Airlines operates the Bombardier CRJ 200 on domestic routes.

In 2019, a Bangladeshi airliner crashed at Tribhuvan airport, killing 51 people while 20 on board survived.

An investigation confirmed the plane was misaligned with the runway and its pilot was disoriented and tried to land in "sheer desperation" when the plane crashed.

In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet landing in dense fog skidded off a slippery runway at the airport. The plane was carrying 238 people but there were no serious injuries.

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