Photographs: Reuters
Mangled remains of an aircraft on streets, a damaged heavy metal fan of the engine, burning buildings, and people in panic. This was the scene at the accident site of the chartered plane that crashed in a residential area in Faridabad on Wednesday night, killing ten persons, including all seven onboard.
Also Read: Air ambulance crashes near Delhi, 10 killed
The aircraft lost control and nosedived crashing into the first floor of a building, killing three women residents.
The building in no time turned into a ball of fire. A battery of people surrounded the accident site, which caused difficulty in rescue operations.
"I rushed to the building, it was on fire. There were some people on the stairs who were engulfed in flames. I tried to find my way to the first floor but the flames were too strong," Omkar, 30, one of the injured, said.
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'It was very scary'
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Three persons were injured in the mishap. Apart from the wreckage of the ambulance aircraft, oxygen cylinders, icebox, and other medical articles were seen lying around the scene.
The whole area has been cordoned off and security personnel deployed. The incident was a nightmare of sorts for the residents of the densely populated Parvatiya Colony as they came out of their houses after hearing the massive explosion.
"It was very scary. I heard a loud explosion and rushed outside. I saw flames all over. I immediately called my friends and nearby people to douse the fire," said Rohan, a resident of the colony.
Rahul's life-saving flight turned out to be his last
Photographs: Reuters
Meanwhile, it was meant to be a life saving flight to a Delhi hospital from Patna, but for an ailing Rahul Raj it turned out to be his last journey.
Rahul, who hails from Bettiah in Bihar, was in a Patna hospital as he was suffering from Hepatitis and his family decided to shift him to Delhi as fell into comma.
A student, Rahul, was airlifted to Apollo hospital on Wednesday night for treatment, but it turned fatal for him. Rahul was accompanied by his cousin Ratnesh, two doctors from Apollo, Rajesh Jain and Arshad, and a male nurse Shiril.
They along with pilot Manjeet and Harpreet perished in the tragedy. The bodies of all the 10 victims were badly burnt in the incident.
An unusual morning walk for Faridabad residents
Photographs: Reuters
In the meantime, for many, it was an unusual morning walk to a narrow bylane near the Air Force Station in Faridabad to view the remnants of a late night tragedy.
The rotter and the wings lay on the narrow bylane, while parts of the engine were seen lying in a small courtyard.
Three women -- a 55-year-old mother, her 19-year-old daughter and 23-year-old daughter-in-law -- staying in a modest house, perished along with seven persons flying in the aircraft.
Huge blocks of bricks were seen in front of Fehrawat Niwas, on which the aircraft crashed into. "I heard about the accident last night. I could not come that time. I wanted to see the plane," Suresh, a labourer who walked for around twenty-five minutes to reach the spot said.
Young and old, men and women, flocked the periphery of the narrow bylane, where the incident took place, to have a glimpse of the wreckage.
Children were seen curiously asking elders about the plane, while policemen barricaded the area to keep the public away.
'I woke up early and went to the spot'
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
From the safety of their balconies and rooftops, neighbours were glued to each and every movement at the crash site.
The morning also saw scores of policemen assembling in front of the house only to be assigned their positions to ward off public from entering the accident site.
Ashok, a 12-year-old student of government school, said that he just saw the wreckage and was sad about the incident. "I wanted to see an aircraft closely so I woke up early and went to the spot," he said.
'We faced a lot of problems due to power cut'
Photographs: Reuters
Police said fire tenders and rescue teams had difficulty in reaching the spot due to the crowd assembled at the spot.
Rescue operations were being carried out for two hours. "We faced lot of difficulty in rescuing people as there was a power cut in the area," said Sitaram, an eyewitness.
Lata Devi, another eyewitness said, "We were about to sleep when we heard a huge sound. It was a huge explosion. For a minute I could not understand what has happened, but later realised that something big has fallen on the house."
Meanwhile, Principal Medical Officer of B K Hospital, O P Mehta said the condition of all the injured is stable. The deceased women have been identified as Sharla, Rani and Sarita while those injured are Harvinder, 30, Satish, 18, and Omkar, 30.
'They were on the radar scope but all of a sudden, the plane vanished'
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday started an inquiry into the crash. The DGCA has appointed an inspector of inquiry, who will take charge of all material evidence at the site of the crash including the wreckage of the plane in sector 22 in Faridabad.
A six-member DGCA team is inspecting the site of the crash. The inspector of inquiry will hand over the material evidence to the Court of Inquiry when it will be set up.
A senior DGCA official had said last night that the plane was in contact with the Air Traffic Control and on the radar before suddenly vanishing and losing touch. "They (plane) were in contact. They were on the radar scope but all of a sudden, the plane vanished", said A K Saran, joint director of DGCA who visited the crash site.
Meanwhile, Haryana government officials on Thursday assessed the loss suffered to property due to the crash of an air ambulance aircraft in a residential area here that left 10 persons dead.
Officials from the revenue department inspected the two houses which suffered damages when the aircraft crashed into their roofs. A senior official said mainly two houses - one belonging to Sobhraj Shehwrat and Sunil suffered damages in the crash. Shehwrat's house, in which three women were killed, was the worst hit.
"There are damages to two houses. We are assessing the loss. We will prepare a report regarding the damages and recommend to the government the compensation to be given," the officials said.
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