BSF aircraft crash: Delhi Police register FIR

New Delhi

Delhi Police have registered a case in connection with the crash of a Ranchi-bound BSF plane shortly after it took off from IGI Airport here today, killing all 10 persons on board.

“We have registered an FIR under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC and investigation has been taken up,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) D K Gupta.

The FIR, against unnamed persons, was registered at the police station in IGI Airport this evening. The matter is being probed by a team supervised by Gupta himself, a senior official said.

All the 10 persons on board a small Ranchi-bound BSF plane carrying technical personnel were killed when it crashed near Dwarka and burst into flames just outside the IGI airport here shortly after takeoff, following which the Civil Aviation Ministry ordered an enquiry.

Following the incident, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh briefed the Prime Minister about the crash and rushed to the site, which was also inspected by Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi.

Aviation sources said the accident happened at around 9.50 am when the twin-engine Superking plane crashed into the airport boundary wall near a railway track and landed in a sewage treatment plant while returning back apparently due to a technical problem five minutes after it took off for Ranchi.

The aircraft lost contact with the Air Traffic Control, at 9.50 am, they said.

The 10 persons onboard the ill-fated aircraft comprised the pilot, who was a second-in-command rank officer of SIB, the co-pilot, who is a Deputy Commandant, six technicians, one engineer and one crew member.

‘Damage could have been more had plane crashed in petrol unit’
New Delhi

As investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of a plane crash in Dwarka, local residents today thanked providence, saying there could have been more damage as the accident occurred at a site that neighbours a populous village, a railway line and a petroleum storage unit.

A ten-seater Ranchi-bound chartered aircraft carrying BSF personnel and technicians crashed at Shahabad Mohanmadpur village in Dwarka area, killing all ten persons on board.

The incident which occurred between 9:40-9:45 AM gave an initial scare to both residents living nearby as well as the rescue teams rushing to the site, since the plane had crashed in the vicinity of a petroleum storage unit.

“The plane flew over the railway line and crashed onto the boundary of a sewage treatment plant on the periphery of the airport premises after hitting a tree close by.

“There is a petroleum unit nearby, thank god, it did not crash there, else it would have been an inferno. Also, thankfully it flew over the neighbouring railway tracks. We are sorry for the loss of lives…the pilot didn’t jeopardise lives of many others on the ground,” a top official of the Delhi Fire Service said.

Curious onlookers from near and far swarmed on to the scene soon after the incident, as police cordoned off the site that presented a grim picture.

While three of the victims’ bodies were found in burnt condition, rest were pulled out of the sewage treatment plant.

The impact of the crash was so severe, hardly any part of the aircraft, a twin-engine Super King B-200, was left to be salvaged, even as teams from police, CISF and disaster management rummaged through the debris.

“The effort to retrieve the black box is is still on, but the damaged wall has now been screened and the area is being cordoned off for further investigation,” a senior police official said.

Meena Burman, a resident Shahabad Mohanmadpur, who came to the crash site after watching TV reports, expressed sorrow over the loss of lives, but nonetheless hailed the pilot saying, “He minimised casualty as most pilots do in such scenarios.”

“This village is very populated, there is a school right behind the railway line, where the plane flew over, and there is a petroleum unit nearby. Also, the village next to ours, Bagdola, is a densely populated village. So, many more lives could have been in jeopardy, had it not been for the pilot’s presence of mind,” she said.

Brothers Harsh and Aatish, students at a high school in Shahabad Mohanmadpur, who cycled to the site, said, their class was informed of the crash by a teacher, “But, we did not feel afraid, though, we feel sad for the family of the victims.”

The wreckage of the aircraft, which was blown to smithereens by the impact of the crash, was carefully being salvaged in search of the black box.

“Practically, nothing is left of the aircraft. One can only imagine what happened to those men, who were flying in it,” the top official of the Delhi Fire Service said.

Sandeep, a class IX student at the Shahabad Government Boys School, said, after learning about the incident at the school, “We were curious to visit the site, as we had no idea, what was the extent of the damage.”

“But, after coming here, we realised the plane had been reduced to pieces, there’s hardly any wreckage…I pray for the departed souls,” he said.

The site of the crash, given its proximity to inhabited areas and railway tracks, drew people from neighbouring Palam Village and even far-off areas like Raj Nagar, about 3 kms from the Shahabad Mohammadpur village.

Neelam Tripathi, who came to the site along with her daughter, Kanta, and father-in-law, Rajdeo Upadhyay, from Raj Nagar, said, “We had feared the damage would have been more, but the pilot, it appears, skillfully crash-landed in a rather secluded portion, else, god only what would have happened.”

Sohan Lal, 70, who cycled his way to the site from Raj Nagar said, “These kind of incidents make you feel sad and realise how fragile our lives are. But, the role of the pilot in diverting the plane away from the residential area must be lauded.”

About 300 personnel from Delhi Police and 200 from the CISF were manning the area and the site of the accident during the day, an official said.

All ten bodies were sent for post-mortem. As the ambulances carried them away, an uneasy calm prevailed in the area, with some even perching on top of earthen mounds and platforms of the nearby railway station to catch a glimpse.

PTI

PTI