Tragedy in Kathmandu: Saurya Airlines crash claims 18 lives

[webfact]

A Saurya Airlines aircraft carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, leaving 18 dead. Only the pilot has survived. The ill-fated flight, bound for Pokhara, met with disaster around 11am today, according to news agency PTI.

 

Premnath Thakur, spokesperson for the airport, confirmed the crash and reported the tragic loss of lives. Police and firefighters immediately launched rescue operations at the scene. A security official revealed that the pilot was rushed to hospital but refrained from providing further details.

 

Eyewitness accounts described the harrowing moments as the plane caught fire, releasing a significant plume of smoke, reported news portal Khabarhub. Emergency services swiftly extinguished the blaze, but the damage had already been done.

 

The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ 200 jet, was part of Saurya Airlines’ fleet, primarily used to connect hard-to-reach areas and tourist destinations across Nepal. Despite the country’s burgeoning air industry, safety concerns remain prevalent due to inadequate training and maintenance. Consequently, the European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace.

Nepal has a troubling history of aviation disasters, averaging one flight catastrophe per year. Since 2010, there have been at least 12 fatal crashes.

In January 2023, a Yeti Airlines flight tragically crashed near Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board. Similarly, in May 2022, a Tara Air plane went down in the Mustang district, resulting in 22 fatalities.

 

Another notable disaster occurred in 2018, when a US-Bangla Airlines flight crash-landed near Kathmandu, claiming 51 lives and seriously injuring 20 others, reported Hindustan Times.

 

In related news, Taliban officials confirmed that a plane, en route from Pattaya, Thailand, to Russia, crashed in Afghanistan on January 21, resulting in the loss of two lives, while four passengers managed to survive. The chartered Dassault Aviation AM.PA Falcon 10 aircraft took off from the U-Tapao International Airport in Pattaya on January 20 with six passengers bound for Moscow, Russia.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of BBC

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-07-25

 

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[Emdog]

Anthony Burgess, author of "A Clockwork Orange" and others, commented in a Playboy interview way back when "Never fly on an airline where the pilots believe in reincarnation". Stuck with me over the decades

[spidermike007]

Many years ago I had that same flight booked from Kathmandu to Pokhara and they informed us an hour before the flight that they couldn't fly, because they had engine malfunctions that they had not been able to diagnose. Flying in Nepal seems to be a very risky endeavor. 

[mfd101]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Despite the country’s burgeoning air industry, safety concerns remain prevalent due to inadequate training and maintenance. Consequently, the European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace.

Take the train.

[billd766]

12 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Take the train.

Great idea (not).

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Railways_(Nepal)#:~:text=Existing Railway Lines,-Currently there are&text=Jaynagar–Bardibas railway line%3A Out,transport railway line in Nepal.

 

Raxaul–Sirsiya railway line: This is a 6 km (3.7 mi) line from Raxaul, India to Sirsiya Inland Container Depot (or dry port) near Birganj, Nepal, and is primarily used for freight transport.[8] It allows container traffic to be imported to Nepal through the Sirsiya dry port container depot.[9]

Jaynagar Bardibas line near Janakpur
Jaynagar–Bardibas railway line: Out of its 68.7 km (42.7 mi) total line length from Jainagar, India to Bardibas, Nepal, currently trains are running on 52 km up to Bhangaha and is used primarily for passenger transport. This is the only passenger transport railway line in Nepal. It runs from Bhangaha to Siraha at the Nepal-India border and further goes to the Indian town of Jainagar, Bihar. Nepal Railway operates passenger train service on it.[10] In this line Bhangaha to Bardibas section has been left to be constructed. In the Jaynagar–Bhangaha (52 km) section now trains are running on a regular basis.
Jaynagar-Bardibas
Legend
km    Station objects
        
        
INR Ter. (JYG)                NRW Ter. (JYG)
    3         
 India
 Nepal
  border
    3.2    Inarwa
    7.8    Khajuri
    13.3    Mahinathpur
    17.7    Baidehi
    21.7    Parbaha
    23        Postal Highway
    23.5        Jaladh khola
    28.4    Janakpurdham
    33.1    Kurtha
    34.2    Pipradhi
    36.2        Bighi river
    37.8    Khutta Pipradhi
    42.5    Loharpatti
    47.6    Singyahi
    51.2    Bhangaha
    51.8        Rato river
        Bijayalpura
        
Bardibas
Bathnaha–Biratnagar railway line: Freight transportation up to Budhnagar commenced. The eight-kilometre route from Bathnaha to the Integrated Check Post in Biratnagar was tested for operations in October, 2018.

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, Emdog said:

Anthony Burgess, author of "A Clockwork Orange" and others, commented in a Playboy interview way back when "Never fly on an airline where the pilots believe in reincarnation". Stuck with me over the decades

I suppose that rules out flying on Thai Airways planes???