Post by : Bianca
Haleem
Seven people are feared dead after an air ambulance crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday night. The aircraft was transporting a burn patient from Ranchi to New Delhi when it went down in a forested area near Simaria.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft was a Beechcraft C90 operated by Redbird Airways, a Delhi-based non-scheduled operator. The plane took off from Birsa Munda Airport at 7:11 PM. After establishing contact with Kolkata at 7:34 PM, the aircraft lost communication and radar contact around 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi. Shortly after, it crashed in the Kasiyatu forest area near Simaria.
Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G said the crash site was deep inside the forest, making immediate confirmation of casualties difficult. However, officials later confirmed that all seven people onboard were feared dead.
Those onboard included 41-year-old Sanjay Kumar, who had suffered 63% burn injuries and was being shifted from Devkamal Hospital and Research Centre in Ranchi to Delhi for advanced treatment. Other passengers included Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, attendants Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar, and two pilots — Captains Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh.
The patient’s family arranged the air ambulance for better medical care in Delhi. According to hospital officials, the patient left Ranchi around 4:30 PM before boarding the flight.
The DGCA has started an investigation into the crash. Ranchi Airport Director Vinod Kumar said bad weather could be one of the possible reasons, but the exact cause will be known only after a detailed probe.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about aviation safety and the monitoring of non-scheduled operators in India. Authorities are expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
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