Air ambulance crashes in India's Jharkhand, 7 killed

An air ambulance has crashed near Simaria in Jharkhand's Chatra district, India, killing all seven people on board. The accident occurred on Monday evening, February 23, local time, reports NDTV.

A senior official of the state government said the aircraft was travelling from Ranchi to Delhi. Chatra district Deputy Commissioner Kirtishree G told news agency PTI, "All seven people on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The aircraft's destination was from Ranchi to Delhi."

The aircraft, operated by Indian private aviation company Redbird Airways, took off from Ranchi airport at 7:11 pm, according to reports.

Citing Deputy Commissioner Kirtishree G, NDTV reported that the aircraft went missing around 7:30 pm. It later crashed in the dense forest area of Bariatu Panchayat in Simaria.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shubham Khandelwal confirmed to PTI that all seven bodies have been recovered. The deceased are Captain Vivek Vikash Bhagat, Captain Sarajdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Vikash Kumar Gupta, Sachin Kumar Mishra, Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.

Local residents said there were strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area at the time of the accident. The aircraft crashed with a loud noise during the storm.