Nepal to fly flags half-mast today; five-membered committee formed to investigate Saurya plane crash

Kathmandu [Nepal], July 25 (ANI): The Nepal Government has decided to fly the flags half-mast on Thursday after a horrific incident at the Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital that claimed the lives of 18 people on board.
Government spokesperson, Prithvi Subba Gurung confirmed that an emergency cabinet meeting convened on Wednesday evening and decided to lower the flags to half-mast in honour of Saurya plane crash victims.
"Today's cabinet meeting decided to fly the flags half-mast all across the nation on Thursday, as well as, formed a five-member committee to investigate the incident. The committee will be led by former Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Ratish Chandra Lal Suman. It includes captain Deepu Jwarchan from Nepal Airlines, engineer Sanjay Adhikari from Shree Airlines, assistant professor Sudip Bhattarai from Pulchowk Engineering Campus, and technical officer Mukesh Dangol from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation," Gurung confirmed ANI.
Gurung, also the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, informed that the committee has been mandated to submit the report within 45 days.
A total of 18 people died when a Saurya Airlines aircraft crashed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Nineteen people, including two crew members, were on the Pokhara-bound flight, with registration number 9NAME, which took off from Kathmandu at 11:11 am.
Nepal Police said Captain MR Shakya was rescued from the crash site and has been admitted to the KMC Hospital in Sinamangal for treatment. Most passengers were airline staff, travelling to Pokhara for aircraft maintenance.
The Tribhuvan International Airport stated that the flights crashed at a place on the east side of the runway.
"CRJ7 (Reg-9NAME) of Sourya Airlines took off from Kathmandu at 11:11 am local time during the flight to Pokhara, turned right, and crashed at the east side of the runway. It is reported that the fire was brought under control and the rescue work was started immediately," they said.
"The dead bodies of 18 people were recovered, and 1 injured person was rescued and taken to the hospital," the airport added.
The Pilot of the Saurya Airline plane that crashed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu is the lone survivor of the crash.
The plane 9N-AME (CRJ 200) was only carrying technical staff of the airline, with no passengers on board. Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at TIA, confirmed that the plane was carrying a few technical staff members too. (ANI)