With 190 people on board, an airport in India's southern state of Kerala witnessed an Air India Express Plane crash, with at least 17 confirmed deaths.
The plane arrived at Calicut airport from Dubai and broke into two after it skidded off the runway. According to aviation officials, the Boeing 737 carried Indian repatriates stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a report by BBC, it was stated that the rescue operation in the site of the crash has already been done. According to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan survivors were taken to nearby hospitals in Malappuram and Calicut.
Aside from the 17 confirmed deaths, dozens of the plane's passengers sustained injuries, and 15 of which were severely injured. The airline also confirmed that the two pilots of the plane were among those who died in the crash.
The Crash
Out of the 190 people on board Flight IX 1134, were 184 passengers, which included 10 infants; and six crew members. The crash happened at around 7:40 PM (local time) on Friday.
According to CNBC, the plane was already attempting to land at Calicut International Airport for the second time that night. This was after the pilots aborted their initial attempt to land due to the rainfall brought by the monsoon season in Kerala.
In a tweet by Hardeep Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Minister of India, he stated that the aircraft plunged down a 10.6 m slope after it "overshot the runway in rainy conditions," causing it to crash and break into two. He also added that the country's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will carry out a formal inquiry of the events.
Meanwhile, India's National Disaster Response Force director-general, S N Pradhan stated that the aircraft fell into a "ditch" after it skidded in Calicut airport's table-top runway. He added that the impact caused by the fall made the fuselage break causing the plane to split into to. HE also noted that the front half of the plane was "very badly mangled and damaged"
Moreover, Puri also said that first responders were able to immediately conduct a rescue operation since the plane did not catch fire, adding that several people needed to be cut free.
During the time of the plane's attempted descent, Kerala was covered by heavy rains. This is a usual occurrence in India especially as the seasonal monsoon has already started.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sympathy for the victims through a tweet and said that he was pained by the accident.
Plane Crashes During Monsoon Season
During monsoon season which is from the months of June to September, countries across South Asia have previously suffered major plane crashes, annually.
Back in 2010, in Mangalore airport, and Air India Express flight overshot the runway and crashed, killing 158 people. The most recent incident was back in July of 2019, also in Mangalore which was a similar incident, fortunately, no lives were lost during that time.
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