At least 18 bodies were recovered from the small plane that caught fire after skidding off the runway during takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday, according to media reports and officials.

The pilot has been rescued and is being treated at the hospital.

The aircraft, operated by local carrier Saurya Airlines, was carrying two crew members and 17 technicians to Pokhara city for maintenance checks, airport security chief Arjun Chand Thakuri said.

Television footage showed firefighters battling the blaze as thick black smoke billowed into the sky.

“The plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a field east of the runway,” Thakuri confirmed reported Reuters. The fire that erupted from the crash was extinguished by emergency responders.