kathmandu : Eighteen people have been killed in a Saurya Ailnes aircraft crash that occurred at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Wednesday morning.

All the deceased are the staff members of Saurya Airlines, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said.

One of among those killed is a foreign staff member while the others are Nepali staff members of Saurya Airlines, according to police. 

There were a total of 19 people on board including two crew members. Captain Manish Shakya who sustained critical injuries is undergoing treatment at KMC Hosptal. Captain Shakya has sustained injures to his eye and can speak, according to SSP Dinesh Raj Mainali, the spokesperson at the Kathmandu Valley Police Office.

The Pokhara-bound aircraft with the call sign 9N AME-CRJ 200 crashed toward east side of the runway at 11:11 am shortly after it took from TIA, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said.

The fire-fighters, rescue teams and ambulances had been deployed to the crash site after being informed that the ill-fated aircraft which crashed at 11: 11 am, the police has said.

The fire was taken under control at 11:40 am. The bodies have been taken to TU Teaching Hospital for postmortem.