Picture : Twitter / ANI
An Air India Express plane with over 180 people on board from Dubai skidded off the runway while landing at Kerala’s Kozhikode reported a news agency.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed the National Disaster Response Force on Friday night to rush to the spot at Kerala’s Kozhikode, where an Air India Express aircraft crashed, to assist in the rescue-and-relief operations.
A Directorate General of Civil Aviation statement said the AIEAXB1344, B737 Dubai-Calicut with 191 people on board met with the mishap.
The passengers include 10 infants, two pilots, and four cabin crew members. The flight landed at the airport around 7.40 pm. An airline spokesperson said the aircraft apparently overshot the runway.
#WATCH Kerala: Dubai-Kozhikode Air India flight (IX-1344) with 190 people onboard skidded during landing at Karipur Airport today. (Video source: Karipur Airport official) pic.twitter.com/aX90CYve90
— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on phone after an Air India Express plane coming from Dubai overshot the runway at the Kozhikode airport. Modi tweeted his pain over the tragedy
Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot, providing all assistance to the affected.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2020
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted
Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 7, 2020
Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala tweeted ,
Tragic day for Kerala. First the deaths in Munnar & now this: I hear both pilots have died. Hope rescue efforts will succeed in saving all the passengers #KozhikodeAirCrash https://t.co/Jd6ZjgzkHH
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 7, 2020
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Civil Aviation minister tweeted his sadness over the tragedy
Deeply anguished & distressed at the air accident in Kozhikode.
The @FlyWithIX flight number AXB-1344 on its way from Dubai to Kozhikode with 191 persons on board, overshot the runway in rainy conditions & went down 35 ft. into a slope before breaking up into two pieces.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 7, 2020
