Rescuers at Kozhikode Airport asked to go into self-quarantine: Kerala Health Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 08: All those who were involved in rescue operations at Kozhikode Airport should go into self-quarantine, said K K Shailaja, Kerala Health Minister.

She asserted that the state government will conduct COVID-19 tests of all the rescuers.

This comes after 20 people were killed and scores injured when an Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the tabletop runway in Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday night while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions, officials said.

Kerala plane crash: AI Express says three relief flights arranged to assist passengers, families

The pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Sathe and his co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar were among those who died, police and airline officials said. Sathe was a former Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and had served at the force's flight testing establishment.

Meanwhile, the black box from the crashed Air India Express aircraft in Kozhikode, Kerala has been recovered.

Earlier a DGCA official said that the Digital Flight Data Recorder had been recovered from the aircraft. The floorboard was being cut to recover the Cockpit Voice Recorder.

This was a Vande Bharat repatriation flight.

The mishap occurred at 1941 hrs. No fire was reported at the time of landing, an AIE statement said.

"The plane went into the valley and brokein two portions.There were a total of 190 passengers including the crew. It comprises 174 adults, 10 infants and six crew members.

The rescue operations were over within one-and-a-half hours. All the valuables and packages have been taken into custody," Gopalakrishnan told reporters at the Airport.