KATHMANDU - Eighteen dead bodies have been recovered after a plane crashed on Wednesday at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, said Hansa Raj Pandey, spokesman at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Pandey told Xinhua that one injured person has been hospitalized, and the airport has been closed over the incident.

The spokesman initially put the death toll at 22, but he corrected it later saying the rescue team double-counted three people.

The CAAN's search and rescue coordination center issued a statement, saying 18 were killed and 1 injured in the incident.

The Saurya Airlines flight bound for the city of Pokhara was carrying 19 people, and all of them were from the airline, said Pandey.

A witness said the plane nosedived into the ground and an explosion could be heard inside the airport.