‘If treatment was available in Ranchi, we wouldn’t have lost him’: Grief pours in after air ambulance disaster

RANCHI/NEW DELHI: Families of the victims are devastated after seven passengers aboard an air ambulance were killed on Monday evening when it crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand’s Chatra district while travelling from Ranchi to Delhi.

Relatives have expressed deep grief and shared heart-wrenching accounts of the tragedy.

Father of doctor devastated after son dies

"My son was a doctor. He told me he was going to Delhi with patients, but later I learned the aircraft had crashed and my son is no more. I sold my farmland to educate him."



Brother mourns nursing staff member who died in crash
A relative of one of the deceased said, "My younger brother, Sachin Kumar Mishra, was everything to me. He was like my own child. He was my whole life and my entire world. Since my father is no more, he was my only support. He worked as a nursing paramedical staff member for many years. For the past two to three years, he had been working in an ambulance service. We had advised him many times to take a hospital job instead and not take such a big risk. I asked him to stay with me. He was the foundation of my life — my everything. Without him, my life feels completely incomplete. Somehow, I educated my younger brother and supported him. At a very young age, he started working to support the family, even though he did not have to. He began earning only because he saw the family's difficult situation. Otherwise, today my brother would have been living with me."


Another relative spoke about the death of Sanjay Prasad, who had been severely burned in a domestic accidentThe relative said, "Sanjay Prasad had suffered severe burns. He was admitted to a hospital. There was no improvement in his condition during treatment, so we wanted to shift him to Delhi. In that process, we arranged a private jet, but it crashed. He had a small hotel, and a gas cylinder there had exploded, which caused the fire. That was how he got badly burnt. My demand to the government is that the system is extremely weak. Even when we go to private facilities, the arrangements turn into hardships, and today that hardship has turned into death. Our home has been completely destroyed. Not just one home—many families have been ruined. The government here is incapable and is doing nothing. If proper treatment had been available in Ranchi itself, we would not have had to take him to Delhi. And in the process of taking him to Delhi, this tragedy happened, my entire family has been wiped out. Our very existence has been shattered. There are two children who have now become like orphans. What will happen to them, I do not know."


Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren expresses condolences
In a post on X, former Chief Minister and BJP leader Champai Soren expressed grief over the incident. "I pray for the deceased individuals, including the crew members aboard the plane, from Marang Buru (the supreme tribal deity), and for strength to their families during this difficult time," he posted.

According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.