A small passenger plane belonging to Nepal’s Saurya Airlines crashed and caught fire while taking off from Kathmandu on Wednesday, killing 18 people and leaving one survivor, the captain, who is receiving treatment at a hospital.

The CRJ-200 aircraft, carrying 17 technicians and two crew members, was heading for maintenance at Nepal’s new Pokhara airport.

Among the deceased were 18 Nepali citizens and one Yemeni engineer. Shortly after takeoff, the plane veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway.

This incident highlights Nepal’s poor air safety record, with nearly 360 fatalities in plane or helicopter crashes since 2000, Reuters has reported.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, visited the crash site and urged patience. An emergency cabinet meeting was called to form a panel to investigate the incident.

Written by B.C. Begley