IndiGo Delhi-Srinagar flight: Pak rejected pilot's request to use its airspace to avoid turbulence
New Delhi/ Mumbai, May 22 (PTI): An IndiGo pilot operating the Delhi-Srinagar flight, which encountered a sudden hailstorm on Wednesday, initially sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence, but the request was rejected, sources said on Thursday.
The incident of flight 6E 2142 encountering severe turbulence is being probed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the sources said.
The flight, carrying more than 220 people, including Trinamool Congress MPs encountered a sudden hailstorm, and the pilot reported the "emergency" to air traffic control at Srinagar airport. The flight had landed safely on Wednesday.
When the aircraft was overflying Amritsar, the pilot noticed turbulence and sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's (ATC) permission to take a deviation through the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday. The request was made in order to avoid the turbulence, but it was rejected by the Lahore ATC, the sources told PTI.
As a result, the aircraft operated on the original flight path, where it encountered severe turbulence, they added.
In the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed at least 26 people, Pakistan airspace is closed for Indian carriers. India has also shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines.
In a statement on Thursday, IndiGo said its flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar on May 21, 2025, navigated a sudden hailstorm and landed safely at Srinagar International Airport.
"All customers were attended to upon landing and no injuries were reported. The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured," the airline said.
A five-member delegation of Trinamool Congress comprising Derek O'Brien, Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghose, Manas Bhunia, and Mamata Thakur was on the flight.
"It was a near-death experience. I thought my life was over. People were screaming, praying and panicking," Ghose said on Wednesday.
"Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed, we saw the nose of the plane had blown up," she had said, adding that the delegation thanked the pilot after the landing.
Videos of the moments of turbulence emerged on social media showing panicked passengers praying for their lives as the plane swayed.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
