Air India Express Flight skids off.. 18 killed

The Air India Express Flight skids off the runway at the Kozhikode airport in Kerala resulting in the death of 18 people including 2 pilots and 3 crew members.

The DGCA said the Dubai-Kozhikode flight broke down into two pieces after landing at Runway 10 and falling into the nearby valley. There were 192 people on the plane at the time of the accident. With more than 100 injuries and 16 of them were in severe condition.



The flight Boeing 737 from Dubai was one of the several other flights that used to bring thousands of Indians stranded in foreign countries by the coronavirus pandemic. Due to heavy rains at the Kozhikode airport, the flight plunged off at the time of landing.

Rescue staff and locals rushed to the scene after hearing the loud noise.

As per the reports, the local rescue workers said that 'messages were shared on WhatsApp that people were needed for the rescue operation. Immediately several people came in cars and took injured to the nearby hospitals." Later the emergency services took over the rescue operations.



Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the plane caught fire after skidding off due to heavy rainfall at the airport. He also said that he was "anguished and distressed"

Kerala has been hit by heavy rains for the past 3 days. One of the local police officers said Kerala was in the worst phase and this is the third calamity in this year following floods and landslides earlier.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted "Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot, providing all assistance to the affected.