On the night of 7th August, In a horrific tragedy, An Air India Express flight crashed at Kozhikode International Airport, Kerala. The plane while landing on a tabletop runway skidded, nosedived into two pieces, And fell into a 30-feet valley.
Officials say they believe the crash was due to heavy rains, which made visibility very low and caused the aircraft to overshoot. The plane itself was a 13-year-old Boeing 737-8.
With with 190 people on board, 13 persons are confirmed as dead, Including both pilots, Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, and the co-pilot was First Officer Akhilesh Kumar. And over a 120 people are listed as injured.
But the causalities and the severity of the incident could've bee much worse if the CISF had not responded right on time with quick action.
Who were the first to reach and help:
Assistant sub-inspectors Mangal Singh and Ajith Singh, who were deployed close to the crash site, were the first to see the plane crashing down.
Mangal Singh was posted at the emergency Gate No. 8 on the perimeter wall and Ajeet Singh was patrolling the perimeter.
ASI Mangal Singh was at his duty post at 7.40 pm on August 7 at the emergency gate no 8 on the perimeter wall.
ASI Ajeet Singh, as in-charge of the perimeter patrolling team, had reached gate no 8 and checked the beat book and signed it.
@CISFHQrs AWARDS TO OFFICERS
— TNIE Kerala (@xpresskerala) August 8, 2020
CISF Director General Rajesh Ranjan has announced Commendation awards to Dy Commandant Kishore Kumar AV, Asst. Sub-Inspector Ajit Singh & Asst. Sub-Inspector Mangal Singh for their efforts during the rescue operations at #Karipurairport pic.twitter.com/arIfKDnk0O
They could see the edge of the runway above at about 45 feet. Suddenly, they heard a loud sound and saw the Air India Boeing 737 Dubai – Calicut flight hurtling down the slope in front of them. They saw the cockpit separate and slide down at great speed and hit and crash into the perimeter wall.
“We were shell-shocked and initially couldn’t figure out what was crashing down,” they both said.
Here's how our own Hyderabadi CV Anand quick actions helped fasten the rescue process:
"They sounded an emergency and opened the Gate No. 8 near the crash site to allow locals to join the rescue. This minimised casualties" said CV Anand.
Within 10 minutes the first lot of 10 members had reached the accident site and so had the airports authority fire team.
Inspector general CV Anand gathered all information and kept the headquarters informed and mobilized other stakeholders including local police and airport staff and the ambulances.
With an accident happening inside the operational area of the airport and roads available on both sides of the perimeter wall, the help reached the spot quickly.
Some 20-25 locals staying near the airport also gathered. The CISF officers opened the gate no 8 and allowed them inside along with a JCB.
This immediate action of the CISF as the first responder could keep the death toll down to 18. Luckily, the aircraft did not catch fire, perhaps due to the emptying of the fuel by the pilots or due to the rain.
For their brave act, assistant sub-inspectors , Mangal Singh, Kishore Kumar and Ajeet Singh were awarded the DGs disc by DG CISF Rajesh Ranjan.
For those who don't about CV Anand:
Born in Ranga Reddy district, He's a Hyderabadi IPS officer who served as a DCP in Hyderabad for 3 years. Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada City for 2 years. He spent the first 9 years of his career tackling naxalites/maoists as ASP in Warangal. He also worked as DIG in Economic Offences wing of CID.
He was awarded the President's Police medal for Gallantry.
Mr.Anand is now on central deputation to the Central Industrial Security Force and is working as IG Airport sector covering west, central and southern parts of India.
He took charge as the IG of CISF in 2018 for a tenure of 5 years.
Salute to all the real life heroes whose quick actions helped the people in need.
