Ranchi, Feb 24: An air ambulance en route from Jharkhand capital Ranchi to Delhi crashed in Kasaria panchayat area of Simaria block in Chatra district on Monday evening, killing seven people.
Chatra Superintendent of Police Sumit Agarwal confirmed the incident and said that the helicopter crashed and all seven people on board were killed. He said that rescue and relief operations have been launched.
The aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air BE9L operated by Redbird Airways Private Limited, was being used for medical emergency evacuation (air ambulance) services on the “Ranchi-Delhi” route.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there were a total of seven people on board, including two crew members. The plane had taken off from Ranchi at 7:11 pm yesterday.
After contacting Kolkata control, the pilot requested to change course due to weather conditions. At 7:34 pm, communication and radar contact with Kolkata control was lost. The last known location of the plane was about 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi, the DGCA said.
The plane was carrying a 41-year-old patient, Sanjay Kumar. He was accompanied by two pilots — Vivek Vikash Bhagat and Swarajdeep Singh — doctor Vikash Kumar Gupta, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra and assistants Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.
As soon as the incident was reported, local police and district collectors rushed to the accident site.
The plane was operating as an air ambulance service and was taking a patient from Ranchi to Delhi for treatment. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known.
Aviation authorities are expected to launch a detailed investigation soon, which will include reviewing flight data, technical records and weather conditions at the time of departure.