A passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of all 18 passengers on board, while the pilot was rescued from the flaming wreckage, Nepali police reported.

The Saurya Airlines flight, which was carrying two crew members and 17 staff members of the airline, met with disaster shortly after takeoff. According to Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki, the pilot is currently receiving medical treatment. “Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem,” he said.

The crash occurred around 11:15 am local time, with initial reports indicating the plane caught fire after skidding on the runway. The aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ 200 jet, and the flight was reportedly for technical or maintenance purposes, according to Gyanendra Bhul of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Images from the scene showed the plane’s fuselage completely burned and split apart. Nepal’s military quickly responded to the crash, with soldiers assisting in the rescue efforts. The plane was scheduled to fly between Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal’s busiest air route.

Nepal’s aviation sector, despite its recent growth, has struggled with safety issues due to inadequate training and maintenance, compounded by the country’s challenging mountainous terrain. The European Union has banned Nepali carriers from its airspace due to safety concerns.

This incident adds to Nepal’s troubled history with aviation safety. The last major crash occurred in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines plane crashed in Pokhara, killing all 72 on board. Nepal’s deadliest aviation accident was in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed near Kathmandu, resulting in 167 fatalities.