Sixteen more volunteers, who engaged in the rescue operations at the Air India Express plane crash site in Calicut International Airport (or Karipur airport), have tested positive for coronavirus. The volunteers had helped evacuate the injured passengers on August 7. On Tuesday, 10 volunteers had tested positive for the virus.

"The airport sources said that as many as 26 residents in the area who were involved in the rescue operations, have been diagnosed with COVOD-19 so far, and are now under medical care," the Malappuram District Medical Officer Dr K Sakeena told PTI.

District Collector K Gopalakrishnan, Superintendent of Police U Abdul Kareem and 21 officials, including police and fire force personnel, who were also involved in the rescue operations had also tested positive earlier.

Nineteen passengers, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed in the plane crash and other passengers were injured when the aircraft with 191 people on board overshot the table-top runway, fell into a gorge and broke into two pieces.

The volunteers, who reside in the area around the airport, had rushed to the accident site, braving the heavy rains and COVID-19 fears, and took the injured to the various hospitals, drawing praise from various quarters, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Scores of civilians not only took the injured passengers to hospitals but also manned the traffic en route to the hospital and even donate blood.

Among the 10 volunteers who contracted the disease, four are residents of Kondotty while six are from Nediyiruppu. At the time of the plane crash, Kondatty was a containment zone. Despite this, people came forward to help the passengers.

Health Minister KK Shailaja had asked all volunteers to go into quarantine after one of the deceased passengers tested positive for the pathogen.

Kerala Chief Minister, Shailaja teacher and several other politicians, too, had gone into quarantine after they visited the plane crash site on August 8.