It had been just a few minutes that security guard Samsher Khan had stepped out to have tea at a local tea stall outside the Old Malik Estate construction site. What he saw from the distance, Khan says, he will never be able to come to terms with. “A huge plane came down crashing at the place I have been working for months. There was a deafening sound, almost like a blast – and in no time, the site caught fire,” Khan narrates.
The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft had crashed into a construction sire in Jeev Daya lane near a telephone exchange in the busy suburban area in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. All four – Maria Kuber, the pilot in-charge, Pradip Rajput, her co-pilot, Manish Pandey, the aircraft technician and Surabhi, a mechanical engineer – on board were charred to death. A pedestrian too died in the mishap. He was identified as Govind Pandit.
After the initial few minutes of shock, as Khan returned to his senses, he said he inquired about the 50 odd workers at the site. They had, just a few minutes before the crash, stepped out for lunch. “At 1 pm, everyone goes out for lunch and returns only around 2 pm. The crash happened around 1:10 pm,” Khan said. Three persons, who were still at the site have suffered burn injuries and are being treated at the municipal corporation-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. Vidya Thakur, the medical superintendent at the hospital confirmed that their conditions are stable, although all three have sustained burn injuries. “One of them has severe burn injuries on the face and other two, on their limbs. We are monitoring their condition. They are out of danger,” Dr Thakur told The Wire. Bodies of the five deceased have been sent for post mortem.
Ghatkopar, where the crash occurred, is only a few kilometres from the domestic airport. Residents here are used to aircraft movements. But the fear of crash also looms large in this area which has several high rises built in close proximity. Shailaja Pai, a 35- year-old resident of a nearby building said she ran out of her flat on the tenth floor in a 12- storey apartment thinking there was a bomb blast. “There was smoke and fire all around. I thought it was a blast in the building. I ran down in panic. Aircraft hover around our buildings day and night. It is scary,” Pai said. The Height Restrictions (For Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015 have a clear norm and restrict construction of high rises around the airport. But the norms have been openly flouted.
Amid panic, there were also several labourers who heaved a sigh of relief. Today (June 28), around 50 of them had come to work for their 12-hour long shift. Most of them, like Omprakash Prajapati, a carpenter, work and live here. “Fifteen of us joined here two weeks ago. The contractor had given us both work and a place to live. Almost all of us are migrants, who have come to the city for work. Now with this accident, we don’t know if our work will be affected and if we will have a place to stay. But we are only glad to be alive,” Prajapati said.
29/06/18 Sukanya Shantha & Ruchira Petkar/The Wire/Business Standard
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The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft had crashed into a construction sire in Jeev Daya lane near a telephone exchange in the busy suburban area in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. All four – Maria Kuber, the pilot in-charge, Pradip Rajput, her co-pilot, Manish Pandey, the aircraft technician and Surabhi, a mechanical engineer – on board were charred to death. A pedestrian too died in the mishap. He was identified as Govind Pandit.
After the initial few minutes of shock, as Khan returned to his senses, he said he inquired about the 50 odd workers at the site. They had, just a few minutes before the crash, stepped out for lunch. “At 1 pm, everyone goes out for lunch and returns only around 2 pm. The crash happened around 1:10 pm,” Khan said. Three persons, who were still at the site have suffered burn injuries and are being treated at the municipal corporation-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. Vidya Thakur, the medical superintendent at the hospital confirmed that their conditions are stable, although all three have sustained burn injuries. “One of them has severe burn injuries on the face and other two, on their limbs. We are monitoring their condition. They are out of danger,” Dr Thakur told The Wire. Bodies of the five deceased have been sent for post mortem.
Ghatkopar, where the crash occurred, is only a few kilometres from the domestic airport. Residents here are used to aircraft movements. But the fear of crash also looms large in this area which has several high rises built in close proximity. Shailaja Pai, a 35- year-old resident of a nearby building said she ran out of her flat on the tenth floor in a 12- storey apartment thinking there was a bomb blast. “There was smoke and fire all around. I thought it was a blast in the building. I ran down in panic. Aircraft hover around our buildings day and night. It is scary,” Pai said. The Height Restrictions (For Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015 have a clear norm and restrict construction of high rises around the airport. But the norms have been openly flouted.
Amid panic, there were also several labourers who heaved a sigh of relief. Today (June 28), around 50 of them had come to work for their 12-hour long shift. Most of them, like Omprakash Prajapati, a carpenter, work and live here. “Fifteen of us joined here two weeks ago. The contractor had given us both work and a place to live. Almost all of us are migrants, who have come to the city for work. Now with this accident, we don’t know if our work will be affected and if we will have a place to stay. But we are only glad to be alive,” Prajapati said.
29/06/18 Sukanya Shantha & Ruchira Petkar/The Wire/Business Standard
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