KATHMANDU: This Wednesday morning, upon takeoff near Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, Nepal, a Saurya Airlines flight crashed, killing all 18 of the 19 on board. According to the officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), 9 N-AAM rolled off the runway and caught fire as it was leaving for Pokhara.

It was a test flight carrying 19 people, all employees and technicians of the airline. The flight did not include any regular passengers since the trip to Pokhara was not usual. The crash resulted in a considerable fire, with smoke seen billowing from the scene. Firefighters and security personnel have been rushed to the scene to extinguish the blaze.

The aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ-200 that could seat 50 passengers and was 21 years and 4 months old. This was Nepal's sixth Bombardier CRJ-200 purchase. Planespotters.com lists the aircraft being built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier in April 2003.

After the disaster, PM KP Oli visited the crash site to view the situation himself and offered his condolences for the loss of life. He urged the public to patient during this tough period and said the airport is now operational following consultation with the CAAN to determine the cause of the incident.