After air ambulance crash, Jharkhand minister touts ‘Asia’s biggest hospital’ plan; burns patient was among 7 victims

RANCHI: Jharkhand health minister Irfan Ansari has appealed for support amid criticism following the fatal air ambulance crash in Chatra district, saying the incident is under investigation and highlighting the state’s plans to strengthen healthcare infrastructure.

Speaking after visiting Sadar Hospital in Chatra, where the bodies of the seven victims have been kept for post-mortem examination, Ansari said, "...Those protesting should support me as I am building Asia's largest hospital in Jharkhand...Till when will we see tears of a father, mother...The crash incident is a matter of investigation..."




All seven people on board the Beechcraft C90 air ambulance were killed when it crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday evening. The aircraft, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, was flying from Ranchi to Delhi on a medical evacuation mission.

Officials said the aircraft took off from Ranchi at 7.11pm and lost contact with air traffic control about 20 minutes later. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft had established contact with Kolkata at 19:34 IST before losing communication and radar contact approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi.

The victims have been identified as Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat, Captain Savrajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

Ansari said the state government would probe how permission was granted for the aircraft to fly during what he described as “inclement weather”, and assured that compensation would be provided to the families of the deceased.

Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar said poor weather could be a possible factor behind the crash, although the exact cause would only be known after a detailed inquiry. An investigation team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been sent to the crash site.

The crash has left families devastated.

Bajrangi Prasad, father of Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, said he had sold his land to educate his son, who had completed his MBBS in Cuttack and was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi. “He has a seven-year-old son,” he said, describing him as meritorious.

Relatives of Sanjay Kumar, who had suffered severe burn injuries and was being taken to Delhi for treatment, questioned the state’s health infrastructure. A family member said that had proper treatment been available locally, the transfer might not have been necessary. Sanjay Kumar and his sister Archana Devi were both killed in the crash.

The air ambulance had been arranged after Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandwa in Latehar district, was admitted to a private hospital in Ranchi with 65% burns. His family decided to transfer him to Delhi for further treatment.

As investigators work to determine the cause of the crash, a sense of grief continues to hang over Chatra district, where the bodies were brought for post-mortem examination.