Rescuers shaken by Air India Express disaster at Kozhikode airport

Indian authorities had practised for years to deal with a jet overshooting the “table-top” runway at Kozhikode airport, but locals were not prepared for the real thing.

The Air India Express plane crashed off the runway and down a 10m bank, then broke in two during a fierce storm late Friday (Aug 7), killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 120.

First attenders could hear screams all around. People were soaked in blood everywhere, some had fractures, some were unconscious. The impact was so brutal that the nose of the Boeing 737 finished about 20m from the back half of the jet.

The two pilots were killed but rescuers said the death toll would have been much higher if the jet had caught fire.

Kozhikode airport in southern India’s Kerala state is considered a potential hazard because it has a “table-top” runway with a steep bank at either end. The special flight was bringing 190 Indians stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic in Gulf countries back to India. Many live in Kerala where the number of virus cases is taking off.

Locals volunteered to help rescuers who were overcome by the size of the task.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited the site of the accident on Saturday. Puri said two separate teams had already reached Kozhikode from New Delhi to carry out an investigation into the crash.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/air-india-express-plane-crash-cause-investigation-black-box-13005384