Air India Plane Crash: At Least 14 Dead

An Air India Express plane has been crashed in Kerala.

The Air India Express plane carrying 191 passengers from Dubai skidded off while landing on the runway at Kozhikode Airport on Friday (August 7) evening. A photo from the scene showed the plane split in two and scattered on and off the runway.

The IX 1344 had 184 passengers, 10 children, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew on board, several of whom were injured and taken to the hospital. The pilot and four others died on the spot. But so far at least 14 people have been reported dead.

The plane was bringing expatriate Indians from Dubai to the country during the coronavirus epidemic under the Bande India Mission. Source says that the plane slipped on the runway and fell into a 30 feet deep ditch while landing this evening.

According to flight-tracking website FlightRader24, the plane circled the airport several times and made two attempts to land.

Witnesses said the plane skidded off the runway due to heavy rain. According to local media sources, the pilot of the plane died. The co-pilot was seriously injured. Witnesses also said that they saw smoke at the accident site.