Last rites of pilot Sabharwal, who gave ‘Mayday’ call of AI plane, performed in Mumbai
Mumbai(PTI): Last rites of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, pilot in command of the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad last week, were performed in Mumbai on Tuesday with his grief-stricken father bidding a heart-wrenching, tearful farewell to his son before the cremation.
The last rites were performed at an electric crematorium in suburban Chakala in the presence of family members, officials said, hours after Sabharwal's mortal remains were brought to Mumbai from Ahmedabad.
After performing the final rites of the 56-year-old veteran pilot, his father and other family members left the crematorium at around 11.15 am, an official said.
Earlier in the morning, the casket carrying the remains of Sabharwal reached the Mumbai airport by a flight and was taken to his residence, located at Jal Vayu Vihar in Powai area, by his family members, an official said.
Several friends and relatives of Sabharwal as well as local residents gathered outside his residence to pay homage.
Businessman Niranjan Hiranandani and local MLA Dilip Lande were among those who visited Sabharwal's residence to pay respects to him. Sumeet Sabharwal's father Pushkaraj and other relatives were also seen paying homage.
A hearse carrying the pilot's mortal remains then left for the electric crematorium at Chakala.
The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. All but one on board the plane died along with 29 on the ground when the aircraft smashed into a medical complex.
The ill-fated flight was under the command of Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier said in a statement.
The aircraft departed from the Ahmedabad airport at 1.39 pm from runway 23. The pilot (Sabharwal) of the plane issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after take-off to the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad.
Moments later, the plane (AI 171), a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, smashed into the medical complex located outside the airport compound.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
