Chatra (Jharkhand): A medical evacuation flight turned into a tragedy on Monday evening when an air ambulance crashed in the dense Karamtand forests of Jharkhand’s Chatra district. All seven individuals on board, including a patient, his wife, medical staff, and the flight crew, were killed in the accident, which officials primarily attribute to severe weather conditions.
The aircraft, operated by Red Bird Aviation, took off from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport around 7:00 PM, bound for Delhi. It was transporting 41-year-old Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa, Latehar, who was being moved to the capital for advanced medical treatment. However, just 20 minutes into the flight, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) lost contact with the plane as it flew over the Simaria police station area.
Eyewitnesses in the region reported a fierce storm at the time of the crash, characterized by heavy rain, lightning, and high-velocity winds. The aircraft reportedly went down in a heavily forested area, making initial rescue efforts challenging. Chatra Deputy Commissioner Kirti Shree and SP Sumit Kumar Agarwal reached the site shortly after with police and paramilitary forces to coordinate the recovery operation.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies of one woman and six men from the wreckage. The victims have been identified as pilots Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Sabrajdeep Singh; the patient, Sanjay Kumar; his family members Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar; Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta; and nurse Sachin Kumar Mishra.
The crash site has been sealed for safety and investigation purposes, and a forensic team has been summoned to examine the debris for technical failures. All bodies were transported to Chatra Sadr Hospital for post-mortem examinations. Dr. Pankaj, Deputy Superintendent of the hospital, confirmed the recovery of the seven victims and noted that the extreme weather remains the most likely cause of the disaster.
This tragic incident has cast a shadow over the region, highlighting the inherent risks of emergency medical aviation during the unpredictable storm seasons in eastern India.
