A tragic aviation incident has left the nation in mourning after an air ambulance carrying a critically injured patient and a medical crew crashed in the dense forests of Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday night. Officials have reported that all seven individuals on board are feared to have perished in the accident.
The Incident
The Beechcraft C90 aircraft, operated by the Delhi-based firm Redbird Airways, departed from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport at 7:11 pm. The flight was a medical emergency mission tasked with transporting a burn patient to New Delhi for advanced treatment.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the flight proceeded normally until 7:34 pm, when it established contact with air traffic control in Kolkata. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft lost both communication and radar contact while approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi. It subsequently plummeted into a remote, heavily forested area near Simaria in the Chatra district.
The Victims
The aircraft was carrying a patient, medical personnel, and flight crew:
- Patient: Sanjay Kumar (41), who was suffering from 63% burns.
- Medical Team: Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta and paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra.
- Attendants: Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.
- Flight Crew: Pilots Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Savrajdeep Singh.
Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G noted that the remote, difficult terrain has hampered immediate recovery efforts, making the retrieval of victims a complex operation for rescue teams.
Ongoing Investigation
While the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, Ranchi Airport Director Vinod Kumar indicated that inclement weather may have been a contributing factor.
The incident has brought the safety standards of India’s charter aviation sector under fresh scrutiny. While the DGCA had previously initiated special audits for non-scheduled operators like Redbird Airways—which has been in operation since 2019—the results of these audits have yet to be disclosed.
Tributes have begun to pour in, with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren expressing his deepest condolences to the families of those lost in this devastating accident. Rescue and official investigation teams are currently on-site working to secure the area and determine the definitive cause of the tragedy.
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