The pilot is the only survivor after a domestic plane carrying 19 people skidded off the runway and crashed while attempting to take off in Nepal.

The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to the city of Pokhara for maintenance checks, airport security chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said.

Mr Thakuri also told local media the plane “caught fire” after it left the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital Kathmandu.

TV channels have shown the plane flying a little above the runway and then tilting before it crashed.

They also showed firefighters trying to put out the fire and thick black smoke rising into the sky.

The fire has now been brought under control as images show rescue workers rummaging through the charred wreckage of the plane.

Police official Basanta Rajauri said authorities have pulled out the bodies of all 18 people who died.

“Only the captain was rescued alive and is receiving treatment at a hospital,” said Tej Bahadur Poudyal, the spokesman for Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.

The pilot was taken to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital with eye injuries but his condition is not life-threatening, said a doctor at the hospital who was not authorised to speak to media.

It is not yet clear what caused the crash.

It is monsoon rainy season in Kathmandu but it was not raining at the time of the crash. However, visibility was low across the capital.

The plane belonged to local Saurya Airlines, media said.

Saurya operates domestic flights in Nepal with two Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets, both around 20 years old, according to Flight Radar 24.

Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport in Nepal for international and domestic flights, has been temporarily closed following the crash.

Nepal has been criticised for a poor air safety record, and nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in the Himalayan country since 2000.

The deadliest incident occurred in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 people.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Related posts:

‘This is really out of control’: Chaos as food warehouses ransacked in more South Africa looting Morgue staff open body bag to find man alive inside Russian prisoners told they can go free if they do six months’ service in Ukraine – leaked video appears to show At least 15 killed including four children in Mexico bus crash Andrew Tate’s Twitter account used to protest his innocence after human trafficking arrest Biden rules out giving F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine You have 24 hours to catch evacuation flight out of Sudan, deputy PM tells British nationals Newly-released photographs show tense hours in White House during Osama bin Laden raid Anti-gay legislation that could mean the death penalty in some cases signed into law in Uganda Troops storm prison and find a nightclub, zoo and swimming pool Mexican marines capture leader of drug cartel that kidnapped and killed Americans Joe Biden’s decision to halt supply of arms to Israel if Rafah is invaded could come back to haunt him