All seven onboard die in Jharkhand air ambulance crash; taken for post-mortem

All seven people on board an air ambulance were killed when the aircraft crashed near Simaria in Jharkhands Chatra districtThe deceased have been brought to a hospital for postmortem examination officials said on Tuesday reported PTIThe Beechcraft C90 air ambulance operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd was en route from Ranchi to Delhi when it went down on Monday evening in the Bariatu Panchayat area of Simaria deep inside a forest All seven on board including two pilots lost their livesAll seven victims taken for postmortem investigation underwayWe have brought all seven bodies for postmortem at Sadar Hospital Chatra The crash is being investigated an official told PTIThe aircraft took off from Ranchi Airport at 711 pm and went missing around 730 pm It lost contact with air traffic control about 20 minutes after departure he saidRanchi Airport Director Vinod Kumar said inclement weather could be a possible reason behind the crash though the exact cause will be determined after a detailed probe reported PTIThe deceased have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat Captain Savrajdeep Singh Sanjay Kumar Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta Sachin Kumar Mishra Archana Devi and Dhuru KumarMeanwhile a lingering sense of grief prevailed in Chatra district as the relatives of those killed in the crash expressed shock and disbeliefBajrangi Prasad the father of the deceased Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta said he had sold all his land to support his sonrsquos medical education Dr Gupta was posted at Sadar Hospital in RanchiHe had a sevenyearold sonhellip He was meritorious and completed his MBBS from Odishas Cuttack Prasad said reported PTIFamily of deceased cites poor healthcare infrastructure for air ambulance crashFamily members of Sanjay Kumar 41 blamed the ldquopoorrdquo health infrastructure for the tragedyHad we received proper treatment for my brotherinlaw Sanjay in Ranchi precious lives could have been saved I lost both Sanjay and my sister Archana Devi in the incident Kumar said reported PTIChatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree G had earlier told PTI that all seven deceased were retrieved from the crash site and shifted to Chatra hospital for postmortem examinationIn a statement the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA said the Beechcraft C90 aircraft VTAJV was operating a medical evacuation flight on the RanchindashDelhi sector when it crashed in Kasaria Panchayat of Chatra districtAircraft lost contact with Kolkata 23 minutes after takeoff from RanchiThe aircraft was airborne from Ranchi at 1911 IST After establishing contact with Kolkata at 1934 IST the aircraft lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi it said adding that there were seven people on board including two crew membersAn Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB team has been dispatched to the crash siteWith PTI inputs