CHENNAI: A loader who was working extremely fast to get the entire luggage of passengers into the cargo hold of a SpiceJet plane, lost his balance and fell off the 20-ft ladder. Hearing the screams of Durai Raj (45), ground-handling staff rushed him to the Apollo Clinic at the airport, where they found that he had fractured his wrist.
The incident occurred at 4.55 am in bay no 51, where Airbus A320 was stationed. Passengers had been asked to board flight SG 302 to Pune, which was scheduled to depart at 5.15 am. “Normally the check-in luggage is loaded 45 minutes in advance, as soon as the check-in counter is closed. Durai Raj was just beginning at 4.45 am, so he must have been stressed to finish fast,” said an airport source. However, others said that the man had been sickly and appeared tired when he reported for duty.
Employed by the Crystal Company to handle ground services nationally for SpiceJet, Durai was shifted to a private hospital in Nanganallur for treatment. The flight did not face any delay, as the loading was completed shortly after.