BREAKING: Plane crashes on take-off in Nepal

In the Himalayan state of Nepal, a plane with 19 people on board has left the runway and crashed on take-off from Kathmandu airport, according to Nepalese state television. According to preliminary information, five bodies were recovered at the scene of the accident at the international airport in the capital Kathmandu, wrote the local newspaper “Kathmandu Post”. The pilot survived, according to medical sources at a local hospital. The condition of the other people on board the aircraft is unclear.

According to state television, the aircraft belonged to the airline Saurya. It was on its way to the city of Pokhara on Wednesday. Tribhuvan International Airport, the main airport for international and domestic flights in Nepal, was closed. Rescue teams were deployed.