Nepal Recent Air Crashes: The aircraft crash that killed eighteen people in Kathmandu on Wednesday was the latest blot in the grim aviation history of Nepal, where several airlines fly to small airports in remote hills and mountains shrouded in clouds and cut off from roads.
The Himalayan country, home to some of the world's most challenging terrain, has witnessed nearly 378 people losing their lives in 20 air crashes since 2000. Here is a list of some of the deadliest aircraft mishaps and incidents in Nepal in recent years:
Nepal Air Crashes (2016-2024)
July 24, 2024: At least 18 people were killed when a Bombardier CRJ 200 plane operated by Nepal's Saurya Airlines crashed and caught fire while taking off from the airport in the capital city of Kathmandu. Only the pilot of the ill-fated passenger aircraft, which was carrying 19 people, including the cabin crew, survived the crash.
July 11, 2023: A helicopter crashed in central Nepal, killing all six people onboard. The chopper had taken off from the country's Solukhunvhu district, home to Mount Everest and other high mountain peaks. The fatalities included five Mexican nationals and one Nepali pilot.
January 15, 2023: A twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft belonging to Nepal's Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara, killing all 72 people onboard. It was the worst air crash in the country since 1992 when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it ploughed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu.
May 29, 2022: Sixteen Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans died on a De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter aircraft that crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Pokhara, 125 km west of Kathmandu.
February 27, 2019: A helicopter crashed in bad weather in eastern Nepal, killing all seven people on board, including the country's then-tourism minister, Rabindra Prasad Adhikari.
March 12, 2018: Out of 71 people onboard a flight operated by Bangladesh-based US-Bangla Airlines, 51 died when the aircraft crashed in cloudy weather while approaching the landing strip at Kathmandu's hill-ringed airport.
February 24, 2016: A small plane crashed in bad weather, killing all 23 people on board. The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air, was on a flight from Pokhara to Jomsom in western Nepal.
(With inputs from Reuters)