Bigyan Pariyar, 20, was still traumatised by the scene he witnessed on the morning of July 24. His hands were shaking as he recounted the events.
As usual, he was scrolling through his cell phone in his free time from work. Suddenly, he heard an explosion. He immediately looked towards the source of the sound. He saw an aircraft hit a container, collide with a hillock, and then become entirely engulfed in flames, destroying the aircraft. The plane was scattered into pieces: the cock pit was stuck in a container while the back part fell into an open space.
“I immediately ran to where the aircraft crashed,” says Pariyar, who works at JJ Motor Parts, located 300 meters away, opposite the crash site. “I saw two people there who were in very bad condition.”
“I was totally helpless,” he adds.
Saurya Aircraft crash kills 18
On Wednesday, July 24, a Saurya Airlines aircraft, 9N-AME (CRJ 200), carrying 19 people on board, crashed at Tribhuvan International Airport. Pariyar is one of the eyewitnesses of the crash.
According to Gyandendra Bhusal, the spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the Saurya Aircraft was en route to Pokhara for a C Check, an extensive maintenance check that occurs every 18 to 24 months, and crashed after a runway excursion during take-off.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has reported 18 deaths and one injury.
The captain of the Saurya aircraft, Manish Shakya, 37, was rescued and rushed to Kathmandu Medical College Hospital in Sinamangal, Kathmandu, informed SSP Dinesh Raj Mainali, spokesperson of Kathmandu Valley Police Office. His health is in stable condition.
Lives could not be saved
Pariyar also says that he could not reach the crash site because he had to pass through a barbed wire fence, which was difficult for him.
“I feel like some of the lives could have been saved if I could have been there,” says Pariyar.
Footage of the plane crash is widely circulating on social media. It shows the plane tilting above the runway before crashing and bursting into flames. It quickly became engulfed in fire and smoke. Another witness, Krishna Thapa, also experienced an equally terrifying scene.
Thapa, a bus driver, was repairing his bus near the garage where Pariyar works. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise.
“At first, I thought it was a car accident. When I immediately looked at the source of the sound, I saw a container falling from the hillock,” says Thapa. “Afterwards, I saw a plane collide with the hillock and fall into the open space.”
He further recalls that the plane was completely engulfed in flames, with the fire reaching a very high altitude.
“After the crash, the bodies were scattered. Some of their hands and legs were moving,” he says. “I was traumatised to see such scenes.”
Both witnesses say the fire brigade did not reach the crash site in time.
“The fire brigade and ambulance immediately reached the hillock where the container fell, but they delayed reaching the spot where the plane crashed,” they say.
According to another witness, Suman Tamang, the fire brigade arrived at the scene only after 20 minutes.
“By the time they arrived, the plane was completely engulfed in flames and damaged beyond repair.”
Community shaken by crash
For the entire day, the settlement around TIA remained traumatised. The crowd of locals, security forces, and media caused chaos. Traffic police were deployed to control the traffic.
“My hands and legs are still shaking after the incident. I have never seen such an incident before,” says a local, Govinda Silwal.
“I wish such an incident would never happen again in the future,” he says.
After the incident, the government formed a five-member committee to probe the Saurya Aircraft crash. The committee has been given 45 days to submit a report.
With this crash, Nepal has recorded 10 domestic airline crashes in the past 10 years, resulting in the loss of 160 lives.
