Air ambulance crash: Deceased bodies handed over to family

The grief and pain of family members of seven people, who died in an air ambulance crash near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, were palpable on Tuesday afternoon, as the bodies were handed over to them after post-mortem examination. 

The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was en route to Delhi from Ranchi when it crashed on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria, located deep inside a forest, killing all seven on board, including two pilots.

The post-mortem was conducted at Sadar Hospital in Chatra.

“The bodies have been handed over to family members after the autopsy,” a health department official told PTI. The aircraft took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm and went missing around 7.30 pm. It lost contact with the air traffic control about 20 minutes after departure, another official said.

Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a possible reason behind the crash, though the exact cause would be ascertained after a detailed probe. The deceased have been identified as Captain Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

As the bodies were handed over to family members, many turned inconsolable, expressing shock and disbelief. 

Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed grief over the incident and said the State Government will provide all possible support to the affected families.

“Since receiving the news last night of the heart-wrenching incident involving the air ambulance... the district administration, along with the State Government, has been fully engaged in addressing it. In this tragic event, we have lost a total of seven of our own, including brave pilots, leaving me deeply anguished and stunned,” Soren said in a post on X.

“I pray to Marang Buru (supreme tribal deity) that the departed souls find peace, and the bereaved families get the strength and patience to endure this unbearable sorrow. The state government stands in complete solidarity with all affected families and it will provide every possible assistance,” he said.

The governor said the news of the air ambulance accident was extremely heartbreaking.

“My deepest condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. May god grant them the strength to bear this immense sorrow. Om Shanti,” Gangwar said.

Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari said the state government will conduct a probe into how permission was given to the aircraft to fly during “inclement weather”. He also said proper compensation would be given to the kin of the deceased.

D S Bhagat, the father of the deceased Vikas Bhagat, lamented that his son, who saved several lives flying an air ambulance, lost his own life in the tragic incident.

“An ill-fated father like me had to see the mortal remains of my son... it cannot get more unfortunate,” he said.

The father of Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Bajrangi Prasad, said he had sold all his land to make his son a doctor, who was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi.

“He has a seven-year-old son... He was meritorious and had completed his MBBS from Odisha’s Cuttack,” Prasad, who hails from Bihar’s Aurangabad district, said.

Family members of Sanjay Kumar (41), however, blamed the “poor” health infrastructure behind the tragedy.

“Had we given proper treatment to my brother-in-law, Sanjay, in Ranchi, precious lives could have been saved. I lost both Sanjay and sister Archana Devi in the incident,” Kumar said.

The brother of Sachin Kumar Mishra said he had worked as a nursing staff for many years.” Sachin was everything to me. He was like my own child. For the past two to three years, he had been working in an ambulance service.”

Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G had earlier told PTI that the bodies of all seven deceased were retrieved from the crash site and shifted to Chatra hospital for post-mortem examination.

In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Beechcraft C90 aircraft (VT-AJV) was operating a medical evacuation flight on the Ranchi-Delhi sector when it crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra district.

“The aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 19:11 IST. After establishing contact with Kolkata at 19:34 IST, the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi,” it said, adding that there were seven people on board, including two crew members.

An Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) team has been dispatched to the crash site.

According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.

Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, told PTI that the air ambulance was arranged by one of their patients.

“The patient, Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was brought to the hospital with 65 per cent burn injuries on February 16. He was being treated in the hospital,” he said.

The family members decided to take him to Delhi for better treatment, Sinha said.

“They arranged for an air ambulance on Monday. The patient left the hospital for Delhi around 4.30 pm,” he said.