Black Friday for Kerala, 2 major accidents in a day

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to reach the airport

credit : TheIndianExpress

New Delhi : The Air India Express flight crashed while landing on the table top runway at Calicut International Airport. This was the second incident of the day for Kerala after Landslide In Kerala's Munnar Area causing many lives. The crash death toll rose to 18 on Saturday with one more passenger succumbing to injuries. Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan told reporters here that one more passenger had succumbed to injuries.

Except one, all those who had perished in the accident have been identified,he said. Seventeen people were killed and scores injured when the AI flight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the table top runway while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions on Friday night.

The pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe and his co- pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among those who lost their lives. Union Minister V Muraleedharan reached the city from Delhi. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to reach the airport by around 9 AM.

An Air India Express statement on Saturday said Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Chief Officer of the Air India Express, Chief of Operations and Chief of Flight Safety of AIX have already reached the airport here.

The Emergency Response Director is coordinating with all the agencies in Kozhikode, Mumbai and Delhi for effective emergency response. The AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) , DGCA and Flight Safety department have reached the city to investigate the accident,the statement said.

Special relief flights have been arranged from Delhi and one from Mumbai for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and their family members, the statement said.

Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot, providing all assistance to the affected.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2020

 

Distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Have instructed NDRF to reach the site at the earliest and assist with the rescue operations.

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 7, 2020

 

Deeply distressed to hear about the tragic plane crash of Air India Express flight at Kozhikode, Kerala. Spoke to @KeralaGovernor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan and inquired about the situation. Thoughts and prayers with affected passengers, crew members and their families.

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 7, 2020

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