Death toll in Air India Express flight crash rises to 18
Kozhikode: The death toll in the Air India Express flight crash at the airport here, rose to 18 on Saturday with one more passenger succumbing to injuries.
Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan told reporters here that one more passenger had succumbed to injuries. Except one, all those who had perished in the accident have been identified,he said.
Seventeen people were killed and scores injured when the AIE flight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the table top runway while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions on Friday night.
The pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe and his co- pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among those who lost their lives.
Union Minister VMuraleedharan reached the city from Delhi. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are also expected to reach the airport by around 9 AM.
An Air India Express statement on Saturday said Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Chief Officer of the Air India Express, Chief of Operations and Chief of Flight Safety of AIX have already reached the airport here.
Special relief flights have been arranged from Delhi and one from Mumbai for rendering humanitarian assistance to all the passengers and their family members, the statement said.
The Emergency Response Director is coordinating with all the agencies in Kozhikode, Mumbai and Delhi for effective emergency response.
The AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) , DGCA and Flight Safety department have reached the city to investigate the accident,the statement said
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BJP will form govt in Bengal with thumping majority: Nabin
Mirzapur (UP) (PTI): BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday voiced confidence that his party will form the government in West Bengal with a "thumping majority".
Polling is underway for 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, covering key districts, including Kolkata, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas.
The high-stakes contest is being seen as decisive for the ruling TMC's bid for a fourth consecutive term and the BJP's push to form its first government in the state. The first phase held on April 23 recorded a high voter turnout of over 93 per cent, reflecting intense electoral engagement.
Speaking to reporters in Mirzapur, Nabin said, "The BJP will form the government in Bengal. We are winning the elections with a massive majority."
Earlier in the day, the BJP chief visited the Vindhyavasini temple and offered prayers. The rituals were conducted by his priest Acharya Agastya Kumar Dwivedi.
On his first visit to the district after assuming office, Nabin was welcomed by party workers at several places. At the temple, he was received by city MLA Ratnakar Mishra and District Magistrate Pawan Kumar Gangwar, who felicitated him with a traditional 'angvastram'.
After offering prayers for about 10 minutes amid Vedic chants, Nabin held a meeting at a hotel with local MLAs, including Mishra, Majhwan MLA Suchismita Maurya and Madihan MLA Ramashankar Patel.
Patel said Nabin emphasised strengthening the organisation and asked public representatives to focus on serving people in their respective constituencies.
Several party leaders, including district president Lal Bahadur Saroj, district vice-president Gaurav Umar, municipal chairperson Shyam Sundar Kesari, women workers and senior officials, were present on the occasion.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place by the district administration for the visit, with multiple officers of circle officer rank deployed, officials said.
