CHATRA: An air ambulance bound for New Delhi from Ranchi, which took off on Monday at around 7:11 pm, lost contact with air traffic control at around 7:34 pm and crashed in a forested area near Karmatand village, Chatra district, killing all seven people on board, including two crew members.Speaking to ANI, SP Sumit Kumar Agarwal confirmed the number of deaths. “We got information around 10 that an accident has happened. Getting here was difficult considering the terrain. The Delhi team will come here for investigation and try to recover the black box. Total number of deaths is seven,” he said.Meanwhile, deputy commissioner Keerthishree G said the crash was likely caused by a thunderstorm.“It crashed due to a thunderstorm. Unfortunately, the team of doctors found them dead. The total number of people is seven. Two were crew members, and the remaining five were a patient and the patient’s family members,” she said.What we know so farThe deputy commissioner Keerthishree G said that, prima facie, bad weather appears to have caused the accident, though the exact cause will be confirmed after a detailed investigation by aviation authorities.The Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 (VT-AJV) was operating a medical evacuation flight from Ranchi to Delhi when it crashed in Kasariya Panchayat, Simariya block.The aircraft had taken off from Ranchi at 19:11 IST and lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi.According to officials, a team from Delhi will arrive at the crash site later in the day to conduct a probe and retrieve the aircraft’s black box.The Kolkata ATC sounded a high alert and initiated the search and rescue protocol. It alerted the district magistrate of Chatra district shortly after the plane disappeared from the radar at 7.34 pm. The crash was confirmed around 10 pm, sources at the Kolkata ATC said.Villagers said they had heard a loud sound like that in cases of an explosion and saw an object falling from the sky. They located the debris in the area, which is located around 107 km north-west or Ranchi and alerted authorities.Teams from the district administration, local police and disaster response units have been mobilised to comb the forest zone, sources said.Sources said that the crew comprised Capt Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Capt Savrajdeep Singh.The list of passengers on board the plane are identified as Dr Vikash Kumar Gupta, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, Sanjay Kumar (41), a patient suffering from burn injuries and referred to Delhi from Devkamal hospital of Ranchi; Archana Devi, who was accompanying him; and Dhuru Kumar, another attendant.According to Ranchi Airport sources, a medical flight took off and maintained contact with the next air traffic control station before being handed over to the following station. After this handover, contact was lost, and the plane did not report back to Ranchi Airport. The state authorities have been informed, and all standard operating procedures are being followed.The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. A charter plane disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Ranchi Airportm as per DGCA sources.In a press note, the DGCA said, “After establishing contact with Kolkata, the aircraft requested deviation due to weather. At 19:34 IST aircraft lost communication and RADAR contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi. The District Administration search and rescue team is at the location, and the AAIB team is being dispatched for investigation. Further information will be shared.”The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a probe, and a team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is being dispatched to the site. (With agency inputs)
