Seven killed as air ambulance crashes in Jharkhand’s Chatra; AAIB begins inquiry

Ranchi, Feb 24: All seven persons on board an air ambulance were killed after the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand's Chatra district.

The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest, killing all seven onboard, including two pilots.

The deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

"We have brought all the seven bodies for post-mortem at Sadar Hospital, Chatra. The crash is being investigated," an official said.

The aircraft took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm and went missing around 7.30 pm. It lost contact with the air traffic control about 20 minutes after departure, he said.

Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a possible reason behind the crash, though the exact cause would be ascertained after a detailed probe.

Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari said the state government will conduct a probe into how permission was given to the aircraft to fly during "inclement weather". He also said proper compensation would be given to the kin of the deceased.

Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, said that the air ambulance was arranged by one of their patients.

"The patient, Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65% burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital," he said.

Meanwhile, a lingering sense of grief prevailed in Chatra district, as the near and dear ones of those killed in the crash expressed shock and disbelief.

Bajrangi Prasad, the father of deceased Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, said he had sold all his land to make his son a doctor, who was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi.

"He has a seven-year-old son... He was meritorious and had completed his MBBS from Odisha's Cuttack," Prasad, who hails from Bihar's Aurangabad district, said.

Family members of Sanjay Kumar (41), however, blamed the "poor" health infrastructure behind the tragedy. "Had we given proper treatment to my brother-in-law Sanjay in Ranchi, precious lives could have been saved. I lost both Sanjay and sister Archana Devi in the incident," Kumar said.

An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team has been dispatched to the crash site. According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.

PTI