All 18 people onboard Saurya Airlines plane were killed after the aircraft slipped off the runway and crashed at Kathmandu airport on Wednesday. Local reports said all 18 bodies have been recovered, while the pilot of the plane, identified as 37-year-old Manish Shakya, was rescued from the wreckage and taken to a nearby hospital in Sinamangal for treatment.

The news agency PTI confirmed all the people onboard have been killed in the crash that took place at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Footage from the spot showed dramatic scenes of the plane speeding down the runway before a fire broke out with high flames and thick black smoke billowing from the wreckage.

According to the news agency, the aircraft 9N-AME (CRJ 200) belonged to a private airline company, Saurya Airlines. The report said the aircraft crashed during takeoff at the airport.

The people including aircrew were aboard the Pokhara-bound flight which met accident at around 11 am, the report added.

Following the incident, Nepal's authorities have shut down the airport, report said. Dozens of international and domestic flights have been affected due to the airport closure. 

Earlier, fire that broke out from the aircraft was dozed off, while police and firefighters carried out rescue operations at the accident site.