BSF plane crash: Aviation min orders probe, bodies sent for post-mortem

The civil aviation ministry has ordered a probe after a Ranchi-bound BSF aircraft crashed in west Delhi’s Dwarka after developing a technical snag, killing all ten on board.

The civil aviation ministry has ordered a probe after a Ranchi-bound BSF aircraft crashed in west Delhi’s Dwarka after developing a technical snag, killing all ten on board.

A part of the Ranchi-bound BSF aircraft which narrowly missed an express train and crashed in west Delhi’s Dwarka area after developing a technical snag, killing all ten on board.((Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times))

“This is a very unfortunate incident happened today...we have issued orders for a probe into the matter and as soon as we will get any update on this, we will inform you,” minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma told reporters.

Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey said authorities were in the process of setting up a Committee of Inquiry to probe the mishap.

“We are trying to identify a pilot who has flown the type of aircraft that has crashed,” he said.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem to the Safdarjung Hospital, police officials at the crash site said.

While three charred bodies were found just outside a sewage treatment tank, the rest were pulled out of the tank, the police said.

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Ten BSF personnel - RP Yadav, Rajesh shivrain, BP Bhatt, D Kumar, SN sharma, Ravindra Kr, Chote lal, DP chouhan, Sundar Singh and K Rawat - were on board.

The ill-fated twin-engine Superking plane took a turn after taking off at around 9.37 am and hit a tree while apparently approaching to land following a possible technical problem, according to officials from the ATC and DGCA.

“It then crash landed hitting the periphery of the airport, then dragged on smashing through a portion of the boundary wall,” officials said.

Sources told HT the pilot noticed the technical issue minutes after taking off but avoided the Delhi-Ahmadabad Ashram Express that was passing through a nearby railway crossing and other residential areas to avoid more casualties.

Small pieces of the wreckage of the fuselage are currently being salvaged by a team of police, disaster management officials said.

Read | Hundreds escape, 10 killed as BSF plane crashes in Dwarka

Members of a rescue team collect wreckage of the crashed BSF aircraft. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Authorities rushed 21 fire tenders to the spot to douse billowing clouds of smoke and fire. “21 fire tenders were rushed. 7 persons fell into the septic tank after the crash,” chief fire officer said.

Eyewitnesses said the plane hit a wall outside the technical area of the airport before bursting into flames and then crashed into a water body.

“We saw a plane spiralling down which crashed near the wall where work was going on. I could sport one body. A labourer who was working was also injured,” an eye witness Suraj said.

Residents gather near the crash site. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

The BSF air wing has a fleet of four fixed wing aircraft - one Embraer, two Avros and the crashed Superking (SKA B-200).

Besides 15 helicopters consisting of six MI-17 1V, two advanced Mi-17 V5 choppers, six Advance Light Helicopters (Dhruv) and one Cheetah helicopter operating under the command of the Union Home Ministry.

The Superking was inducted in 1994-95 in the border guarding force for air support roles.

(with inputs from Faizan Haider, Parwesh Lama, PTI)