Shaken and stunned, Kozhikode crash survivors recall the horror
Kozhikode: It all happened in a flash. Or so it seemed. Just when they thought they had reached home, their plane skidded off the runway at the airport here, breaking into two as it fell into a 35-feet gorge in pelting rain, survivors of the crash said on Saturday.
The 184 passengers on board the Air India Express plane from Dubai that crashed on Friday evening had waited a long time to get tickets on the repatriation flight, part of the Centre's Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad in the coronavirus pandemic.
For some, the homecoming never happened. Eighteen people were killed, including the two pilots. For others, the screams of their fellow passengers trapped in the twisted metal, the injuries, the close brush with death and the interminable wait to be rescued are part of a nightmare they may take a long time to wake up from.
The four cabin crew were among the 172 people who escaped with injuries. Officials said 149 people were admitted to various hospitals and the condition of 16 is serious.
As they recovered from their injuries, some shaken and traumatised, others still coming to terms with what had happened, there were those who said there was much to be thankful for. Like Rashad, he is injured but his wife Sufaira and four-year-old daughter Saidasherin escaped without any serious wounds.
"We did not realise what really happened other than the fact that the flight was shaking," said Ramshad, from Vatakara near Kozhikode, grateful that his family was spared.
Ashraf, who belongs to east Kozhikode, now under treatment at the Medical College Hospital here, said he is yet to recover from the shock. Recalling the frantic moments, another survivor said people jumped out into the wooded darkness in the rain from the emergency door.
"As soon the flight crashed, the emergency door was opened and people jumped out to safety, the survivor said.
Vijaymohan, who escaped with minor injuries and is recovering in a private hospital, said he thought it was a nightmare, unsure whether he was dreaming it all or living through it. "I thought it was a nightmare. I could see heaps of twisted metal spread around when I opened my eyes after the initial shock of the impact, said Vijayamohan, a resident of nearby Malaparamba.
His wife Jameema is admitted in the ICU. The couple had gone to Dubai in December to join their son but got held up due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
Describing the horrific minutes that stretched into what seemed like hours, Riyas said the flight went around the airport twice before attempting to land. "I was in the back seat. There was a big noise and I don't know what happened after that," he told a media channel after he was rescued.
Fathima, another passenger, said the flight landed with heavy force and moved forward.
Ashik, undergoing treatment at a hospital here, was thankful to the fire personnel who reached immediately and moved the injured to safety.
Unmindful of the rain and the risk of contracting the coronavirus infection, locals joined police, fire and other forces in the heroic rescue effort.
Shimna Azeer, a doctor at a private hospital, who attended to some of the injured, said she was astonished at the willingness of the volunteers who helped in taking the injured to hospitals.
In spite of the COVID-19 restrictions and the heavy downpour, the volunteers did a fantastic job, forgetting about the safety to their own lives as they selflessly got into the rescue operations, wearing masks that got wet, Azeer said.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
