Four children have been identified among the 16 passengers who died when an Air India Express flight crashed Friday in the southern Indian state of Kerala, an official said.
All sixteen were residents of Kerala, according to K Gopalakrishnan, a senior official for Malappuram district. A total of 18 people died, including two pilots.
Details from the flight manifest, released by Air India Express, showed that the youngest casualty was only one year old. The oldest passenger to have died was 61.
One of the victims has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Kerala’s chief minister. The plane was one of the repatriation flights operated by the Indian government to bring back nationals stranded abroad due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, according to the Air India website.
Flight IX-1344 crashed after skidding off the runway and breaking into two while landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport on Friday night local time.
Reached Kozhikode to take stock of the status & implementation of relief measures after the air accident last evening.
Will hold consultations with senior civil aviation officials & professionals. pic.twitter.com/wyjFkbaJrH
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 8, 2020
Digital Flight Data Recorder & Cockpit Voice Recorder of the ill-fated aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB is conducting investigations. pic.twitter.com/WCOPV5ETTf
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 8, 2020
