Air India plane crash: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan orders urgent rescue & relief action

Following the crash landing of the Air India flight at the Kozhikode International Airport in Karipur on Friday, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan instructed the Police and Fire Force to take urgent action. He also directed the officials to make necessary arrangements for rescue and medical support. According to Vijayan, Minister AC Moideen will lead the rescue efforts at the Kozhikode International Airport.

As per a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the flight arriving from Dubai fell down into the Valley after landing at Runway 10 and broke into two pieces. The visibility was 2000 metres at the time of landing. There were 191 persons on board including two pilots and 5 cabin crew. The teams of the National Disaster Response Force are being rushed to the airport in Karipur. 

Rescue operations underway

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a statement: 

"Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by B737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot runway at Kozhikode at 19:41 hrs tonight. No fire reported at the time of landing.  There are 174 passengers, 10 Infants, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew on board the aircraft. As per the initial reports, rescue operations are on and  Passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard."