KATHMANDU - At least five people were killed after a small plane caught fire after skidding off the runway while taking off from Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Wednesday, media and officials said.

The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, Airport Security Chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper said five bodies had been recovered from the crash site. Television visuals showed fire fighters trying to put out the fire and thick black some rising into the sky.

"It (the plane) caught fire after skidding off the runway at Kathmandu airport and crashing into a field east of the runway," Thakuri said.

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.

Nepal has been criticised for its poor air safety record, with the deadliest incident occurring in 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus crashed into a hillside while approaching Kathmandu, killing 167 people.

Most recently, at least 72 people were killed in a Yeti airlines crash in January 2023 that was later attributed to the pilots mistakenly cutting off power.

  - Reuters