Two days after the Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express crash at the Kozhikode International Airport in Kerala, the state police department formed a 30-member team to probe the incident. The investigation will be led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) of Malappuram, P Haridas, under the supervision of Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) G Sabu.
The 30-member squad will also include Perinthalmanna ASP, Hemalatha, Inspectors Shibu, KM Biju, Suneesh P Thankachan and members of the Kerala police’s cyber cell wing.
At least 19 people are reported to have died and many injured in the accident, which took place on Friday night when the aircraft, carrying 190 people on board, crashed while attempting to land at the Kozhikode airport located in Karipur. The deceased include the pilot Captain Deepak V Sathe and co-pilot First Officer Akhilesh Kumar. Captain Sathe was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and a former Indian Air Force officer, who had flown MiG-21 fighter aircraft with the 17 Squadron (Golden Arrows) in Ambala.
The airport at Kozhikode has a tabletop runway, and the aircraft, while attempting to land, plunged 30 feet and broke into three parts.
The flight was bringing back people who were stranded in Dubai during the COVID-19 crisis, as part of the Vande Bharat repatriation mission. Many of the passengers were returning home after having lost their jobs; some were coming back as their visa had expired in recent months.
Though the two pilots were killed in the crash, the four cabin crew members on board were safe, Air India confirmed on Saturday.
Following the accident, the union government, the Kerala government and Air India had announced compensation for the victims and injured passengers, with all three announcing Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased. Meanwhile, the Kerala government also announced that it would take care of the medical expenses of passengers who were undergoing treatment.
Watch: Former IAF fighter pilot gorup captain Somala Sreenivas on the air crash