Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has confirmed the death of 18 passengers on board the CRJ-200 aircraft of Saurya Airlines, which crashed on the runway of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning.
Issuing a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said that 18 passengers died when a CRJ-200 aircraft of Saurya Airlines crashed near the eastern side of the Runway 20 moments after takeoff. One person has been rescued, it added.
Captain Manish Shakya, who was rescued from the crash site, is undergoing treatment at KMC Teaching Hospital, Sinamangal.
“The aircraft turned in the right direction right after takeoff at around 11:11 am and crashed on the side of the runway,” CAAN added in the statement.
The aircraft was heading to Pokhara for technical maintenance. All the passengers were technical staff of the airline.
21-year-old aircraft
The aircraft with registration 9N-AME was built in 2003 and bought by the US-based carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines in May of the same year. It came under the ownership of another US carrier, Independence Air, in August 2004.
Arik Air of Nigeria acquired the aircraft in June 2007 and sold it to South African carrier SA Express in April 2008.
The aircraft was bought by the US-based leasing company Aerolease in January 2017, which sold the aircraft to Saurya Airlines in March 2017.
