KATHMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s only international airport will remain closed at least another day as crews attempt to remove the Turkish Airlines jet that skidded off the surface and blocked the runway.

Aviation official Ratish Chandra Lal Suman said Friday special equipment has been flown in from India to try to pull out the plane at Kathmandu airport, which has been closed since Wednesday morning.

Thousands of passengers remain stranded.

The nearest international airports are in neighbouring India, and travelling there by road takes days.

The runway was slippery after two days of rain and there was dense fog when the Turkish Airlines plane skidded into the grass after landing. There was some damage to the front of the Airbus 330, but no serious injuries were reported.