18 dead after aircraft crashes during takeoff in Nepal

An aircraft with 19 people on board crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu in Nepal on Wednesday.

Eighteen people have been reportedly killed in the crash, say media reports.

Quoting a spokesperson for the airport, NDTV reported that the aircraft skidded off the runway minutes after the take-off.

According to eyewitnesses, the Pokhara-bound flight suddenly flipped after taking off, and the wing tip hit the ground. Soon, the aircraft caught fire, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Footage from the spot showed the plane speeding down the runway before a fire broke out with high flames and thick black smoke billowing from the wreckage.

According to a security official at the airport, the fire that broke out from the aircraft has been put off.

Sources reported that the plane was only carrying technical staff of the airline.There were no passengers on board but the plane was carrying few technical staff, Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at the TIA, said.

The pilot of the aircraft, belonging to Saurya Airlines, has been taken to a hospital, reported PTI. 

Authorities have shut down the TIA following the plane crash, the MyRepublica news portal reported.