Rescuers at Kozhikode Airport asked to go into self-quarantine: Kerala Health Minister
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 08: All those who were involved in rescue operations at Kozhikode Airport should go into self-quarantine, said K K Shailaja, Kerala Health Minister.
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She asserted that the state government will conduct COVID-19 tests of all the rescuers.
This comes after 20 people were killed and scores injured when an Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the tabletop runway in Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday night while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions, officials said.
Kerala plane crash: AI Express says three relief flights arranged to assist passengers, families
The
pilot-in-command
Captain
Deepak
Sathe
and
his
co-pilot
Akhilesh
Kumar
were
among
those
who
died,
police
and
airline
officials
said.
Sathe
was
a
former
Wing
Commander
of
the
Indian
Air
Force
(IAF)
and
had
served
at
the
force's
flight
testing
establishment.
Meanwhile,
the
black
box
from
the
crashed
Air
India
Express
aircraft
in
Kozhikode,
Kerala
has
been
recovered.
Earlier a DGCA official said that the Digital Flight Data Recorder had been recovered from the aircraft. The floorboard was being cut to recover the Cockpit Voice Recorder.
This was a Vande Bharat repatriation flight.
The mishap occurred at 1941 hrs. No fire was reported at the time of landing, an AIE statement said.
"The plane went into the valley and brokein two portions.There were a total of 190 passengers including the crew. It comprises 174 adults, 10 infants and six crew members.
The rescue operations were over within one-and-a-half hours. All the valuables and packages have been taken into custody," Gopalakrishnan told reporters at the Airport.