Covid test for people who rescued flyers
Locals rush in to save shocked passengers
Thiruvananthapuram: Amid the plane crash tragedy, coroanvirus scare surfaced with the samples of a passenger who died in the mishap testing positive. The Kerala government said it will conduct Covid-19 tests of all the people involved in rescue operations, said K.K. Shailaja, Kerala health minister, adding that they should go into self-quarantine. Around 50 CISF personnel who took part in the rescue work and their family members have been asked to go into preventive quarantine.
Kozhikode, Aug. 8: It all happened in a flash. Or so it seemed. Just when they thought they had reached home, their plane skidded off the runway at the airport here, breaking into two as it fell into a 35-feet gorge in pelting rain, survivors of the crash said on Saturday.
The 184 passengers on board the Air India Express plane from Dubai that crashed on Friday evening had waited a long time to get tickets on the repatriation flight, part of the Centre’s Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad in the coronavirus pandemic.
For some, the homecoming never happened. Eighteen people were killed, including the two pilots. For others, the screams of their fellow passengers trapped in the twisted metal, the injuries, the close brush with death and the interminable wait to be rescued are part of a nightmare they may take a long time to wake up from.
Dozens of local residents rushed to the airport as they heard a “terrible thud” after the crash.
They brought shocked passengers out of the Boeing 737 even before first responders could reach the airport. “Small kids were trapped under the seats and it was such a distressing sight. When we reached there some were deplaned,” a local resident said. “Many of them were seriously injured. Legs were broken... My hands and shirt were soaked in the blood of the injured persons,” he added.
People from Kozhikode, Malappuram and even Kannur thronged blood banks in various hospitals to donate blood for the injured. All this happened within minutes of the hospital authorities sending out an SOS for blood requirement including that of rare groups.
As they recovered from their injuries, some shaken and traumatised, others still coming to terms with what had happened, there were those who said there was much to be thankful for.
One of the survivors, Ramshad, is injured but his wife Sufaira and fouryear-old daughter Saidasherin escaped without any serious wounds.
“We did not realise what really happened other than the fact that the flight was shaking,” said Ramshad, from Vatakara near Kozhikode, grateful that his family was spared.
Ashraf, who belongs to east Kozhikode, now under treatment at the Medical College Hospital here, said he is yet to recover from the shock.
Recalling the frantic moments, another survivor said people jumped out into the wooded darkness in the rain from the emergency door. “As soon the flight crashed, emergency door was opened and people jumped out to safety,” the survivor said.
Vijaymohan, who escaped with minor injuries and is recovering in a hospital, said he thought it was a nightmare, unsure whether he was dreaming it all or living through it. “I thought it was a nightmare. I could see heaps of twisted metal spread around when I opened my eyes after the initial shock of the impact,” said Vijayamohan.
◗ THE FOUR cabin crew were among the 172 people who escaped with injuries. Officials said 149 people were admitted to various hospitals and the condition of 16 is serious.