New Delhi:
The Air India Express flight from Dubai, with 190 people onboard, that met an accident at the Kozhikode airport Friday evening overshot the runway, but no fire was reported during its landing, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
“Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot runway at Kozhikode at 1941 hrs tonight. No fire reported at the time of landing,” the ministry said in its statement. There were 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew on board the aircraft, the ministry noted.
“As per the initial reports, rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care,” the ministry noted. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the flight — IX 1344 — continued running to the end of the runway amid heavy rain and “fell down in the valley and broke down in two pieces”. The Air India Express is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India and it has only B737 aircraft in its fleet. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, since May 6, special repatriation flights have been operated by Air India and Air India Express under the Vande Bharat Mission to help stranded people reach their destinations. Private carriers have also operated a certain number of flights under this mission. A spokesperson for the Air India Express said that help centres are being set up at Sharjah and Dubai for affected people.
“We regret that there has been an incident regarding our aircraft VT GHK, operating IX 1344,” the spokesperson added.
