In a new aviation tragedy in India, seven people died after an air ambulance flying to New Delhi from Ranchi crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday evening. Following the accident, the Civil Aviation Directorate began an investigation into the causes of the accident.
According to a DGCA statement, the aircraft, a Beechcraft C90 VT-AJV, operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, requested a weather deviation after it established contact with Kolkata.
Shortly thereafter, at 7:34 p.m., the aircraft lost contact and radar contact.
Ranchi Airport Director Vinod Kumar told HT that stormy weather could be the reason behind the accident. But he added that the real cause of the accident will not be determined until after the investigation.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree ji told news agency ANI that the accident was likely due to a thunderstorm.
Read also | Takeoff at 7:11 p.m., lost contact 23 minutes later: Jharkhand plane crash timeline and what we know
“It crashed due to a thunderstorm… Unfortunately, the doctors team found them dead. The total number of people is seven. Two of them are crew members, and the remaining five are patients and the patient’s family members,” she told reporters.
All seven people on board were killed
The plane was en route to Delhi with a patient on board when it crashed near Semaria in Jharkhand, killing all seven on board.
The deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Svrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Duru Kumar.
According to the latest updates, all the bodies have been transferred to Sadar Hospital in Chatra, for autopsy.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
