NDRF teams rushed to plane crash site, Kerala CM rushes state police and firefighters

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Viajay has instructed the state police and fire department to take urgent action for rescue and relief operations after the plane crash at the Kozhikode International airport (CCJ) in Karipur that killed at least two people including the pilot of the aircraft.

The Kerala chief minister tweeted to say that he has also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements for rescue and medical support, reported ANI

Home minister Amit Shah tweeted that he had instructed National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to reach the site immediately and carry out rescue operations.

“Distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala. I have instructed NDRF to reach the site at the earliest and assist with the rescue operations,”Shah tweeted.

NDRF director general SN Pradhan confirmed that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were being rushed to Karipur Airport for search and rescue.

Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot runway at Kozhikode Airport around 7:41 pm on Friday and fell into a gorge. There were 174 passengers, 10 Infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board the aircraft, said ministry of civil aviation.

As per the initial reports rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care.

At least 40 passengers have received injuries in the mishap which took place after the plane overshot the runway while landing during rainy conditions at the airport and broke into two parts. The front portion of the aircraft was also damaged completely. The plane had landed on Runway 10 and continued running to the end of the runway and fell into a valley.

Civil aviation regulator DGCA said the visibility at the airport was around 2000 meters at the time of the incident and the airport was witnessing heavy rains and the plane fell into a 30 feet deep gorge in the valley.

Kozhikode airport is a tabletop airport just like the one at Mangaluru, which had witnessed a horrific air crash in 2010

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