MALAPPURAM: The district police have launched an investigation into the Kozhikode plane crash, which killed 18 passengers and injured 149 others.
A 30-member squad, formed under the leadership of DySP P C Haridas, will look into all aspects, including whether negligence caused the accident.
The investigation commenced based on the statements of a police officer who was on Covid duty at the airport when the incident happened. As per the officer’s statement, a case was registered at Karipur police station under IPC Sections 337, 338 and 304 A and Section 11 of the Aircraft Act, 1934.
“We are investigating whether any criminal offence under these sections led to the accident. If at all we find any, further investigation will be held to ascertain if it was deliberate. The civil aviation ministry’s investigation team will only look into the technical issues that led to the accident. We will access their report as we are responsible to find out the criminal offenses. The department is also responsible for verifying the details of passengers who were onboard the flight. Proper action will be taken based on the investigation report of the squad,” said Malappuram police chief U Abdul Kareem.
The police chief also led the rescue operations after the incident.
“An officer on Covid duty at the airport called me around 7.30pm saying something was wrong and that a plane had touched down on the wrong runway. I immediately alerted all DySPs and police squads in the district. Soon after this, the officer called me again saying the plane crashed. Then it was a night-long effort to coordinate police personnel, fire and rescue service personnel, ambulance ervices, hospital authorities and local people in the rescue operation” said Kareem.
115 undergoing treatment, 14 critical
MALAPPURAM: As many as 115 people injured in the Kozhikode aircraft mishap are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts, District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said on Sunday.
The condition of 14 people continues to be critical. Authorities confirmed that one among the 18 dead in the accident and a person undergoing treatment tested positive for Covid-19.