Kerala Plane Crash: Timeline of what happened in first 5 minutes after mishap

The ill-fated Air India Express flight IX-1344 went off course while attempting to land at the Karipur international airport in Kerala’s kozhikode on Friday, authorities and locals rushed into action to save as many lives as they could. A step by step account of what happened in the crucial first five minutes.

At 7:40 pm when the Boeing 737 aitcraft from Dubai with 190 passengesr onboard skidded off the runway in heavy rain and went down a 35 meter steep. The initial call was made by CISF official.

Assistant Sub Inspector Ajith Singh who was there at crash gate sent a first walkie talkie message to the CISF control room at 7:40 pm, just after he saw the plane crash, said sources.

At 7:41 pm, the CISF control room informed the Air Traffic Control and CISF Quick Response Team. At 7:42 pm, the Airport Fire Station was notified. At 7:43 pm, the CISF called the Airport Health Department.

At 7:44 pm, CISF control room made a call to the terminal manager of the airport, airport director and made a second call to Airport Health.

At 7:45 pm, the CISF control room notified local police and the agency's unit lines.

Inside 5 to 7 minutes of the crash, residents in the area too had reached the crash gate near which the plane went down.

Getting a glimpse of passengers involved, the deputy commandant of the airport permitted a small number of locals inside the crash gate to help with the rescue operation.

Despite the fact that it was India's worst passenger aircraft accident since 2010, the number of casualties was significantly lower than the one in Mangaluru when another Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway and slid down a hill, killing 158 passengers.

Eighteen people lost there lives and more than 150 injured. All survivors were taken to various hospitals and were admitted and were also tested for coronavirus.

Also Read: Kerala Plane Crash: Expert who investigated Mangalore plane crash lists reasons for Kozhikode mishap