Thaindian News

Faridabad, May 26 (IANS) With a broken part of the air ambulance still precariously perched on the roof of the house into which it crashed late night and aircraft fuel lying spilt in the vicinity, police Thursday cordoned off the area in a residential colony in this Haryana town.

Work is on to clear the debris of the Wednesday night crash in Parvatiya colony near Sector 22 that killed 10 people and injured three even as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is inspecting the site again Thursday.

“A six-member DGCA team has been constituted to look into the matter. Earlier they had come late night to do preliminary investigations,” a Haryana police official told IANS in this suburban town of the Indian capital.

The ambulance aircraft that crashed was carrying seven people, including a critically-ill patient. Ten people, including three on the ground, were killed in the crash.

“The aircraft’s fuel had also spilt over to neighbouring houses and open spaces. Therefore we have cordoned off this area. Our officials are scrutinising this place and making sure the area is safe,” stated the official.

The aircraft had broken into nearly three pieces. Its main part fell on the roof of the house number 1254 and is still lying there. Police said the roof could collapse anytime under its weight.

The aircraft fell on the one-storey house owned by Shobha Ram. His family lived on the ground floor while four Nepal nationals lived as tenants on the first floor.

The tenants luckily survived. But the 55-year-old Shobha Ram lost his wife, daughter and daughter-in-law in the accident.

“There was no electricity in the house and my wife, daughter and daughter-in-law had gone on the roof to sit in the open air. I was downstairs and was preparing to sleep when I heard the deafening sound. All the women of my house died on the spot,” said a distraught Shobha Ram.

Ratan Lal, his neighbour, said: “The debris of the crashed aircraft had also fallen on my house and damaged the roof and walls. Fuel was spilt all over in my house. On hearing the loud noise, I rushed out and saw my neighbour’s house in flames.”

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced the compensation of Rs.200,000 each for the three deceased women and Rs.20,000 each for three injured people.

He also said the district administration will do an evaluation to assess the damage to the houses and compensation would be provided to the victims.

The plane belonged to Apollo hospital and was being used to bring Rahul Raj, a jaundice patient from Bihar’s Betiya district, to Delhi when the accident occurred.