Air India flight crash: Toll reaches 20, more than 100 injured

It’s known that, on Friday night, An Air India Express aircraft from Dubai to Calicut with 191 passengers on board crashed after overshooting the runway and falling 30 feet into a valley.  Reports are coming in that at least 20 have succumbed to injuries.  More than 100 passengers have been injured.

A Reuters report, however, put the toll figure at “at least 17 people”.

Reports are trickling in that the tragedy could have been averted.  Journalist Jitender Sharma tweeted, “The Runway 10 where the Air India plane crashed was red-flagged in 2011 also for dangerous landing especially in rainy weather. There is no RESA (Runway End Safety Area) at Runway 10.”

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Civil Aviation Minister, on Friday late night, tweeted that all rescue operations were completed.  “Everyone has now been rescued from the aircraft. Rescue operations are now complete. Injured being treated at various city hospitals.”

Journalist Saahil Murli Menghani reported that locals in Kerala queued up till late night despite the threat of coronavirus to donate blood for Air India victims. “Locals rushed their vehicles to Karipur airport as rain delayed the arrival of rescue teams.  Locals including cabbies pressed in their vehicles to take injured to hospital,” he tweeted.