Air ambulance with seven onboard crashes in Jharkhand’s Chatra district

An air ambulance carrying seven people crashed in Chatra district on Sunday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

According to the passenger manifest, the aircraft was carrying two pilots, a patient, two attendants, a doctor and a paramedic.

The aircraft, a Beechcraft C90 operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, had taken off from Ranchi at 7.11 pm.

In a statement, the DGCA said the aircraft lost communication and radar contact after establishing contact with Kolkata air traffic control.

“After establishing contact with Kolkata, at 19:34 IST the aircraft lost communication and radar contact at approximately 100 nautical miles south-east of Varanasi,” the regulator said.

The Beechcraft C90 was registered under tail number VT-AJV.

The DGCA said district administration-led search and rescue teams have reached the crash site.

An investigation team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is being dispatched to conduct a detailed probe into the incident.

“Further information will be shared,” the DGCA said.

Details on casualties and the cause of the crash were not immediately available.