On Friday evening, an Air India Express flight carrying 190 people including 10 infants and six crew members, which was coming from Dubai, skidded off the runway and fell 35-feet below into a valley and broke into two parts while landing at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode.
18 people, including two pilots, have lost their lives. 127 people are at hospitals, others have been released, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday.
Following Friday's tragedy, Air India changed its social media display pictures to black colour to mourn the death of two of its pilots and the other passengers in the plane.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that it was a heart-wrenching incident. "We share the grief of bereaved families & pray for speedy recovery of those who sustained injuries," she added.
BJP MP Meenakashi Lekhi wrote, "All of us share the grief & pray for the families of the deceased. Om Shanti Om."
Meanwhile, as an interim relief, the Centre will pay Rs 10 lakh to the kin of each deceased who lost their lives in the aircraft crash in Kozhikode, while Rs 2 lakh will be given to the seriously injured, Hardeep Singh Puri, the Civil Aviation Minister said.
"As an interim relief, we will be making a payment of Rs 10 lakhs (to kin) of each deceased, Rs 2 lakhs for seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries," said Puri.
"We were fortunate that unlike the tragic accident at Mangaluru Airport 10 years ago, where the aircraft caught fire, here preventive action minimised the loss of lives," he added.
