Thaindian News

Bettiah (Bihar), May 26 (IANS) A dream has died, leaving a trail of shattered hopes and a stunned family trying to come to terms with the death of their ailing son who was being transported to New Delhi in an air ambulance when it crashed, killing all seven on board and three on the ground.

Rahul Raj, 20, who was critically ill and was being taken to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, was killed when the single-engine air ambulance crashed into a house in the crowded suburb of Faridabad minutes before it was due to land late Wednesday. With him was his cousin, Ratnesh, 23, who also met a tragic end.

The family is devastated, with the news of the two young men of the family being killed.

Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Rahul’s father, said brokenly: “My son was my dream. His killing has ended my dream.

“I did not know that the last attempt to save my son would prove fatal and snatch him from us. This is unbelievable. I had booked the air ambulance Wednesday morning to shift my critically ill son to a hospital in Delhi to save his life but fate willed otherwise,” Rajesh told IANS.

The father runs a medicine business in this district headquarters of West Champaran, near the Nepal border, about 200 km from the state capital.

“Rahul Raj’s mother is inconsolable. The other women of the house can’t stop crying. The sounds of their wails are very painful,” he said.

His aged father Indrasen Kumar added: “We have lost hope, faith and the will to live.”

The grief stricken family is unable to talk to the relatives, friends and neighbours who have gathered to console them.

Rahul was suffering from liver cirrhosis and had slipped into coma when doctors referred him to a bigger hospital and the family decided on Apollo.

Rajesh said that his son was brought from Bettiah to Patna last week and admitted in a private hospital. When his condition deteriorated, the decision was taken to shift him to New Delhi.