Mangalore: May 22nd marks the completion of three years of the ghastly tragedy of Air India Express crash at Mangalore International Airport that took away the lives of 158 passengers arriving from Dubai. The tragedy that occurred in the wee hours is said to be one of the worst aviation disasters in the country when Air India Express Boeing 737-800 with 166 passengers on board overshot the runway and crashed into the nearby valley and burnt like a ball of fire. Joyous passengers were reduced to charred bodies within a matter of few minutes and only the lucky eight could survive the tragedy to give a firsthand account of the horrible tragedy.
The accident completely destroyed a few families and some lost multiple members of their family.
One can imagine the sufferings, the trauma, mental agony, hardships and the distress undergone by the family members and relatives of those who died in that tragedy.
As a mark of respect to all the 160 (including two infants) Air India officials this morning went to the site of crash this morning and paid floral tributes to the souls.
Though Air India had set up a memorial at the crash site inscribing the names of all those who died in the crash it was vandalized within a few days of its construction by unknown miscreants by hurling huge boulders. Station Manager of Air India Melvyn D Silva pointed out that since the memorial was in private property Air India cannot think of reconstructing another memorial at the site.
Speaking to daijiworld about the compensation paid and other aspects of the accident Melvyn D Silva said “families of 130 people have accepted the full and final settlement of compensation offer by Air India. 30 people have taken compensation as per Kerala High Court order and the final settlement will depend on the outcome of the High Court judgment”. He also stated that the eight survivors of the tragedy have also been paid compensation and their claims are fully settled.
22/05/13 Daijiworld.com
