GUWAHATI: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday lauded the fast response displayed by the people of Malappuram and Kozhikode to the crash-landing of the Air India Express jet that occurred on Friday evening at the Kozhikode International Airport, Calicut.
The chief minister said, “Yesterday, the fast response of local people and officials made all the difference. They braved bad weather and COVID fears to rescue their fellow beings. The long queue of people who wanted to donate blood was just one example.”
Vijayan further said, “We have seen this many times, when there is an adversity, the people of Kerala come together to fight it. Humanity, the greater goodness that binds us all, is the bedrock of our society. Let’s take a moment to congratulate the people of Malappuram and Kozhikode.”
The Kerala Chief Minister also said, “Malappuram collector has informed that the rescue operations at the site have been completed. All the passengers have been transferred to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode.”
The fateful Air India Express jet arrived at the Kozhikode International Airport at around 7:30 PM on Friday carrying 190 passengers from Dubai. The Air India Express Limited said, “We would like to inform that as of now there are 17 confirmed deceased including two pilots. Four cabin crew members are confirmed safe.”
It further said, “Emergency response team members, as well as special assistance team members, have been passed into service from Cochin, Delhi and Mumbai to render all possible assistance to the passengers as well as to the family members. A special relief flight has been arranged from Mumbai and Delhi for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and the family members.”
Union Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Reached Kozhikode to take stock of the status and implementation of relief measures after the air accident last evening. I will hold consultations with senior civil aviation officials and professionals.”
Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan also visited the incident site at Karipur Airport to oversee rescue and relief operations seen here with CMD Air India Rajiv Bansal.
