Air Ambulance En Route To Delhi From Ranchi Crashes In Jharkhand, Burn Patient Among Seven Killed

A chartered air ambulance carrying seven people on board crashed near Ranchi in Jharkhand while en route to Delhi, officials have reported. All seven people on board lost their lives.

There were seven people on board. Among them was 41-year-old Sanjay Kumar, who had suffered serious burn injuries and was being taken to Delhi. His family members, Archana Devi and Dhruv Kumar, were accompanying him. Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta was also on board, along with paramedical staff member Sachin Kumar Mishra. The aircraft was being flown by Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat and co-pilot Captain Swarajdeep Singh.

The plane departed from Ranchi Airport on Monday evening for Delhi. It crashed in a forest near Karmatand village under Simaria police station limits in Chatra district while en route to Delhi.

The crash has been confirmed to have occurred near Jharkhand's Simaria area by the Ranchi airport director, Vinod Kumar.  The crash was severe and the aircraft was completely destroyed. Villagers saw smoke rising from the forest and informed the police and district administration. Rescue teams reached the spot, but by then all the occupants had died.

The charter plane was reported to have lost contact with Air Traffic Control shortly after taking off at Ranchi, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The crash occurred after the air ambulance took off from Ranchi airport at about 7.10 pm, as per an official.

"An air ambulance from Ranchi with seven people onboard crashed near Simaria in Chatra district. The report of the crash was received from the state administration," said Airport Director Kumar .

The aircraft was operated by a private air ambulance service. After the accident, the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau started an investigation. Initial suspicion points to bad weather or a technical fault, but the exact reason will be known only after the investigation report is completed.