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The weather will be generally cloudy throughout the country today due to the influence of monsoon wind.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, light to moderate rainfall is occurring at a few places of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places in the rest of the provinces now.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy across the country this afternoon. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces. There is a chance of heavy rainfall at one or two places of Koshi, Bagmati, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

It will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country tonight. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces. Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places of Bagmati and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces in the next 24 hours. Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places of Koshi, Bagmati, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

The Department has also urged all concerned to remain alert as there is a possibility of partial impact on daily life, agriculture, health, tourism, mountaineering, road and air transport in these areas.

The Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) has said that it would take three days to conduct the postmortem of those killed in the Saurya Airlines plane crash in Kathmandu.

The bodies were taken to the Maharajgunj-based TUTH following the crash at the Tribhuvan International Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.

According to Executive Director of the hospital Dr Dinesh Kafle, the hospital’s manpower is in a ready position to conduct the autopsy.

Kafle said that the postmortem will start soon after the relatives of the deceased come to the hospital and identify the bodies.

Police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki said that some of the bodies are recognizable and some are not.

Dr Kafle informed that the bodies will be handed over to the families after examining the teeth and DNA of the bodies.

Kathmandu Valley Police Office spokesperson Dinesh Raj Mainali said: “The hospital administration will perform the autopsy after police prepare necessary documents.”

A Saurya Airlines passenger plane crashed during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of 18 people.

The plane, carrying two crew members and 17 others (15 of whom were airline technical staff), was en route to Pokhara for a comprehensive maintenance check known as a “C-check.” This inspection, conducted every 18-24 months or after a specific number of flight hours, involves a thorough examination of an aircraft’s systems, components, and structures, typically taking several weeks.

Among the deceased were four senior officers from Saurya Airlines: Sagar Acharya, Ashwin Niroula, Yagya Prasad Poudyal, and Dilip Verma. Also on board were Priza Khatiwada, wife of Saurya IT officer Manu Raj Sharma, and their four-year-old son, Adhiraj, who all perished in the crash.

The other victims were identified as Sushant Katuwal (co-pilot), Amit Man Maharjan, Sudip Lal Joshi, Sarbesh Marasini, Shyam Bindukar, Navaraj Ale, Rajaram Acharya, Uddhab Puri, Santosh Mahato, Punya Ratna Saahi, and Aref Reda, a Yemeni national. All were staff members of Saurya Airlines. The bodies were recovered by the afternoon and transported to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj for postmortem examinations.

Captain Manish Ratna Shakya, the pilot, was the sole survivor. He was rescued from the wreckage and rushed to a nearby hospital with injuries to his eyes but was reported to be out of danger.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aircraft (CRJ 200, Registration: 9N-AME) took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 11:11 am from Runway 02. Moments after takeoff, the plane veered off to the right of the runway, resulting in the crash. Eyewitness accounts and video footage on social media showed the plane catching fire upon impact.

The government has decided to form a five-member probe commission to investigate Saurya Airlines plane crash.

An emergency Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday formed a five-member probe commission under the headship of former Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Ratish Chandra Lal Suman.

Dipu Jwarchan, Sudip Bhattarai, Sanjay Adhikari and Mukesh Dangol are the members of the commission, government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung informed.

The commission has to submit the report within 45 days, he said.

The government has also decided to observe mourning on Thursday.

The government has decided to fly the national flag half mast for the same, Minister Gurung said.

At least 18 people died when an aircraft with call sign CRJ7 (Reg 9NAME) belonging to Saurya Airlines crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 11:11 am on Wednesday, the CAAN informed.

Pilot Manish Shakya, however, was rescued alive. He is undergoing treatment at the Sinamangal-based KMC Hospital.

According to a preliminary investigation of the Authority, the plane skidded off the runway and fell into a ditch on the eastern side of the runway while taking off for Pokhara.

Israel has agreed to recruit 2,000 Nepali workers as caregivers amid its full-scale war with Hamas.

In a meeting with newly appointed Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari at his office on Monday, Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Hanan Godder shared that the number of Nepali workers going to work as caregivers in Israel has been increased.

According to Govinda Prasad Rijal, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, a total of 1,000 main candidates and 1,000 candidates in waiting lists could be recruited as per the latest agreement.

Earlier, it was agreed that 500 main candidates and 300 candidates in the waiting list would be hired as a caregiver in Israel. 

During the meeting, various aspects and dynamics of bilateral labor relations between the two countries were discussed, including the ongoing selection process of the aspiring candidates to work as caregivers in Israel.

Rijal shared that Minister Bhandari and the Israeli envoy also talked about the possibility of taking Nepali workers to Israel in agriculture and other sectors.

Expressing satisfaction regarding labor relations between Nepal and Israel, Minister Bhandari urged the Israeli envoy to take more initiatives to search and find Nepali national Bipin Joshi who has been missing in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israel is currently in a full-scale war with Hamas. In the Oct 7 attack, 10 Nepalis were killed and Bipin Joshi, is still out of contact. Yet, Nepali government, in its initiative, has asked Israel to recruit more Nepalis despite knowing the situation.