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Patna crash toll 60

Soroor Ahmed in Patna

About 60 people were killed when an Alliance Air Boeing 737 crashed on government quarters just half a kilometre from Patna airport.

Flight CD 7412, carrying 52 passengers, besides three air hostesses and three other crew, members crashed just beside the Patna-Delhi rail line disrupting train traffic too.

According to District Magistrate Amit Khare, 26 bodies have been recovered from the debris till this evening. He said that at the moment he was not able to say anything about the survivors.

However, it is reported that seven passengers have survived the crash.

According to him, relatives of the victims can contact the district control room on phone numbers 0612-222097 and 0612-224810.

An eye-witness Ejaz Ahmed, a chartered accountant, said that he saw a girl wearing jeans and shirt and another person, possibly an European or American tourist, come out of the plane. The girl's leg was badly bruised.

They were rushed to Patna Medical College Hospital. Reports say the girl is the daughter of Dr Rajgrihya, who was also in the plane.

But for the plane's left wing, it was completely destroyed.

Eye-witnesses Hare Ram, who lives just next to the crash site, told rediff.com that the plane began lurching just before it crashed. Some others said that they saw fire in one of the wings.

"It hit the trees then landed on these two government quarters. I rang up Sunil Kumar, an employee of the fire-brigade, on my mobile. The fire-tenders arrived within half an hour," said Anil Kumar, who was passing by the crash site.

There was utter chaos in the beginning as hundreds of locals rushed to the site. They had no idea how to douse the fire. Local people said that though the first fire-tender arrived promptly, it had no water! The fire tender used water from a nearby pond to fight the flames. However, minutes later more fire-tenders arrived.

Though top state and district officials rushed to the spot within half an hour of the crash they too had no idea how to initiate a rescue operation.

According to an eye-witness, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, who rushed to the spot, slapped a senior police officer for their failure save at least those on the ground.

Eye-witnesses said that though it was difficult to save those on the plane, some on the ground could have been saved had the police acted promptly. The police station is very near the crash site.

The scene at the Patna Medical College Hospital is equally heart-rending with hundreds of people surrounding it. The entry of media persons or other people has been banned on the plea that it would create further chaos.

Activists of social organisations like Emarat-e-Shariah, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Red Cross, Idara-e-Shariah, Al-Khair along with their ambulances are helping the administration in the rescue operation.

There was confusion regarding the number of casualties on the ground. Some people say that seven residents died, while some say that only two died.

The situation at the airport is also chaotic with family members of the victims trying to inquire about their relatives. There is hardly anyone to provide authentic information.

The district magistrate, who is camping at the site, said that the district administration cannot say anything about the cause of the accident.

According to the airport sources the plane was 20 years old. The director of Patna airport S K Modi said that they did not receive any distress signal from the pilot before the crash.

EARLIER REPORT
Alliance Air Boeing crashes near Patna

See full coverage of the Alliance Air crash

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