BSF charter plane crashes; 10 dead
Nine BSF troopers and a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) co-pilot were killed when a chartered plane flying to Ranchi crashed here on Tuesday morning soon after take off.
New Delhi : Nine BSF troopers and a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) co-pilot were killed when a chartered plane flying to Ranchi crashed here on Tuesday morning soon after take off.
BSF Director General D.K. Pathak announced a compensation of Rs.15 lakh for the families of each deceased.
The pilot was Bhagwati Prasad Bhatt, a resident of Dehradun, and the co-pilot was Rajesh Shivrain, who was attached to the SSB. Shivrain hailed from Bhiwani in Haryana.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said the government had ordered an inquiry. The pilot noted a technical snag soon after he started the engine. But he was reportedly told to go ahead with his flight by the BSF ground crew.
Sources said aircraft had been over hauled six months ago and it had 30 hours of flying time left before it was to go for routine servicing.
Captain Bhagwati Prasad Bhat diverted the aircraft from populated areas to prevent any civilian deaths, say sources.
The aircraft that crashed was one of the two B 200 of the BSF. This plane was commissioned in 1995. Another was brought in in 2011.
A B 200 aircraft crashed in 1992 and in 2011 there was a crash in Jharkhand. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to be unstable as it crossed the boundary wall of the Indira Gandhi International Airport -- which also has an area reserved for the military.
"It took a kind of U-turn, then suddenly went down, crashed and exploded in a huge ball of fire," a young man who saw the horrific accident told journalists. "We saw thick black smoke rising up."
A railway employee close to the site said he and his colleagues saw "a huge fire" after the plane came down. "There was a lot of fire all around that nothing else could be seen."
Twenty fire tenders battled the flames, the Delhi Fire Service said. President Pranab Mukherjee said he was sad to learn about the deaths. "My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was pained by the loss of lives. "My thoughts are with the families of the deceased." Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has condoled the loss of lives.
