The flight operated as part of the Vande Bharat mission to repatriate the Indians.
Kozhikode, Kerala:
All those involved in the rescue efforts in Kerala after an Air India Express flight skidded off a table runway at Kozhikode Airport late Friday evening will be tested for the coronavirus, said this morning the state health minister KK Shailaja urging them to “pull themselves together. -quarantine as a precaution”. Eighteen people, including the two pilots, were killed as the flight flew over the runway and the plane shattered into pieces.
“As a precautionary measure, all those who participated in the rescue operation should go into self-quarantine. Covid tests of all will be carried out,” said the 63-year-old minister.
The state health department is compiling a list of those who participated, she said. “Anyone involved in the rescue efforts should notify the state health department. Either contact the toll-free numbers – 1056, 0471 2552056; or the control rooms – 0483 2733251, 2733252, 2733253, 0495 2376063 , 2371471, 2373901, “Health Minister urged.
Eighteen people, including the two pilots, were killed when Air India Express flight IX-1344, a Boeing 737, from Dubai to Calicut, overshot the runway at 7:41 p.m. on Friday. The flight was operating under of the Vande Bharat mission to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus lockdowns.
There were 184 passengers on the plane, including 10 infants and 4 cabin crew; 127 were hospitalized in 13 hospitals in and around Kozhikode.
Many of the passengers were workers returning home after losing their jobs due to the pandemic.
The Honorable Governor of Kerala, Shri Arif Mohammad Khan, visited the site of the incident at Karipur Airport to oversee the rescue and relief operations seen here with CMD Air India Rajiv Bansal. pic.twitter.com/mpgG06Qa3I
– Air India (@airindiain) August 8, 2020
Today Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Air India Chairman and CEO Rajiv Bansal, Union Minister V Muralidharan visited the crash site to take stock of the situation .
The plane crash comes at a time when India, which has the third highest number of Covid cases in the world, is battling the highly infectious disease. The tally climbed to 20.88 lakh cases this morning.
Kerala, which reported the first patient on January 30, has recorded more than 31,000 cases.
