At least 18 bodies were recovered from the small plane that caught fire after skidding off the runway during takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday, according to media reports and officials.
The pilot has been rescued and is being treated at the hospital.
The aircraft, operated by local carrier Saurya Airlines, carried two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, airport security chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said.
Television footage showed firefighters battling the blaze as thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
"The plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a field east of the runway," Thakuri confirmed reported Reuters. Emergency responders extinguished the fire that erupted from the crash.
The CRJ200 plane, which can seat 50 passengers, did not gain any altitude on takeoff, slipped off the runway and fell down an embankment and caught fire. Videos from the spot show a large fire with plumes of smoke rising near the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Nepal air industry has some of the worst air safety records in the world, plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.
In 2023, a Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed on Pokhara killing all 72 people on board, including five Indians.
It was Nepal's deadliest crash since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.
