KATHMANDU, July 24 (Reuters) - At least 18 people were

killed when a small plane crashed and caught fire while it was

taking off from Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Wednesday,

officials said.

The plane was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians

to Pokhara city to repair another aircraft, officials said.

"Only the captain was rescued alive and is receiving

treatment at a hospital," said Tej Bahadur Poudyal, the

spokesman for Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport.

Television visuals showed fire fighters trying to put out

the blaze and thick black smoke rising into the sky. They also

showed the plane flying a little above the runway and then

tilting before it crashed.

Other visuals showed rescue workers rummaging through the

charred remains of the plane, strewn in lush green fields.

Bodies were carried to ambulances on stretchers as local

residents looked on, the television showed.

The plane was a Bombardier, officials said, and

media reported it belonged to local Saurya Airlines. The airport

had been temporarily closed, the officials added.

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 a poor air safety record, and

nearly 350 people have died in plane or helicopter crashes in

the Himalayan country since 2000.

The deadliest incident occurred 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.