Kathmandu, July 24 - At least thirteen people have died as a Saurya Airlines flight skid off the runway while taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday morning.

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.

Pilot Manish Shankya was rescued and taken to a nearby hospital and is undergoing treatment for a head injury. The rescue operations are being led by the Nepal army.
Sources said that the plane caught fire upon impact, but the blaze was quickly extinguished by emergency responders.

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.

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.

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.