A heartbreaking incident took place on Monday evening in Jharkhand when an air ambulance carrying a critical patient crashed into a forest area. The aircraft, operated by Redbird Airways, was on its way from Ranchi to Delhi. It went down in the Kasiyatu forest of Simaria in Chatra district. Authorities have confirmed that all seven people on board, including the patient, his relatives, doctors, and pilots, died in this tragic accident. The local police and rescue teams reached the spot to recover the bodies.
Who were the people travelling in the plane?
The flight was carrying a patient named Sanjay Kumar, a businessman from Chandwa, who was being shifted to Delhi for specialized medical care. He had suffered 65% burns due to a short circuit fire at his hotel a few days ago. Along with him, his wife Archna Devi and nephew Dhruv Kumar were also on the flight to look after him.
The medical team included Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta, a critical care anesthesia specialist originally from Bihar, and paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra. The aircraft was being flown by two pilots, Captain Vivek and Captain Sabrajdeep. Sadly, none of them survived the crash.
How did the crash happen?
The air ambulance took off from Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi at 7:11 PM. Everything seemed fine initially, but the plane lost contact with the Kolkata Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 7:34 PM. Shortly after, villagers in the area reported hearing a loud explosion around 7:45 PM.
Initial investigation suggests that the weather turned bad very suddenly. Heavy rain and strong winds might have forced the plane to go off its planned path, leading to the crash. However, investigators are not ruling out other possibilities. They are checking if there was any engine failure or technical fault in the plane. Chatra SP Sumit Aggarwal confirmed that the rescue operation was completed late at night.
