A Turkish Airlines plane carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members caught fire while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu early Monday morning.
Officials confirmed that the aircraft, operating as flight TK726 from Istanbul, experienced a fire in its right tyres during touchdown. Airport fire engines quickly contained the blaze, and security personnel evacuated all passengers safely through emergency exits. Some United Nations officials were also on board.
SP Rajkumar Silawal from airport security said, “The tyre had caught fire while landing. Using the fire engine, it has been contained. All the passengers are safely evacuated.” Authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the cause of the incident.
The flight’s safe evacuation prevented casualties, but the event raised concerns about safety protocols at Kathmandu airport. Passengers were later escorted to safety, and investigations are underway to determine the exact reason behind the fire.
This incident recalls a similar Turkish Airlines mishap in 2015 at the same airport, when a plane skidded off the runway and veered onto the grassland due to poor visibility. That flight, also operating as TK726, carried 224 passengers and forced the airport to shut down for four days.
