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*Pilot sole survivor
A passenger plane crashed on takeoff in Kathmandu on Wednesday, with the pilot rescued from the flaming wreckage.
The other 18 persons on board died, police in the Nepali capital told AFP.
Nepal has a woeful track record of aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades.
The Saurya Airlines flight was carrying two crew and 17 of the company’s staff members, Nepali police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP.
“The pilot has been rescued and is being treated,” he added.
“Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem.”
The flight was being conducted for either technical or maintenance purposes, Gyanendra Bhul of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority told AFP without giving further details.
Bahadur and Bhul were unable to confirm the nationality of the sole foreigner aboard.
The plane crashed at around 11:15 am (0530 GMT), the military said in a statement, adding that the army’s quick response team had been lending assistance with rescue efforts.
News portal Khabarhub reported that the airplane had caught fire after skidding off the runway.
The plane was scheduled to fly on Nepal’s busiest air route between Kathmandu and Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.
