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Kerala plane skids and breaks into two with 191 onboard, pilot dead

Amid the heavy rainfall already engulfing the state, the night of August 7th turned even more tragic for Kerala after an airplane skid off the runway and broke into two pieces, all while carrying 191 people on the flight.

The incident occurred when the Air India Express flight, under the Vande Bharat mission to bring stranded Indians back to their home country from foreign countries, overshot on the Kozhikode airport due to the amount of rainfall occurring in the state since morning.

The flight, Boeing 737, is the only one Air India Express is operating during the pandemic. It was journeying from Dubai to Kozhikode.

BJP MP KJ Alphons claimed that one of the pilots has died in the accident. The number of passengers safe or injured hasn’t been brought down to a figure yet. However, many of them are told to have got injured and have been taken to the hospital.

It happened at 7.40 pm on Friday after Flight IX 1344 skid on the Kozhikode airport, one of the most vital and prominent airports that are handling international flights.

The flight carried 174 people, 10 infants, 2 pilots, and 5 cabin crew members, all of which have been evacuated, according to officials.

Images from the site have got flooded on social media which shows the flight broken into two pieces along with debris.

The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, posted on Twitter regarding the incident. He tweeted, “Have instructed Police and Fire Force to take urgent action in the wake of the plane crash at the Kozhikode International airport (CCJ) in Karipur. Have also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements for rescue and medical support.”

Home Minister Amit Shah too took notice of the issue and tweeted, “Distressed to learn about the tragic accident of Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala. Have instructed NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) to reach the site at the earliest and assist with the rescue operations.”

The Kerala rains have resulted in 15 deaths while more than 50 are feared to be buried under debris due to the landslides in the Idukki district of the state.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed that the plane fell into a valley and snapped into two.