THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has been traumatised by two major tragedies in successive days.
The people of the State woke up on Wednesday to learn about a landslide at Rajamala in Idukki district in which more than 20 people were killed. Many are feared to be still buried under the debris. The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was rushed to Rajamala.
The landslide has obviously been caused by the torrential rains which have been battering the State for the last three days. Evacuation of the people in the area has been undertaken on a war footing. The PM has announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
Tragedy struck again on Friday when 19 people lost their lives in a plane accident in Kozhikode. The air tragedy occurred when an Air India flight with 195 on board overshot the runway at Karipur airport and plunged 30 feet into a deep valley.
Such was the impact of the accident that the plane split into three parts. Heavy rains hampered relief operations. But thanks to the praiseworthy cooperation and efforts of the local people and fire force, within three hours, all the passengers were taken out of the ill-fated plane and rushed to hospitals in Kozhikode, Farooq and Koilandi.
Among the 19 dead were the two pilots. At least 140 people have been injured. Many of them are in a serious condition. The tragedy could have been worse if the plane had caught fire. Fortunately it did not, perhaps, because of the heavy downpour.
The Director General of Civil Aviation has ordered an investigation into the terrible tragedy. The dead mostly belong to the neighbouring Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur districts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The Union civil aviation minister who has reached Karipur has announced Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed in the accident. The Kerala Government, on its part, announced Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead. It will also bear the expenses on treatment of the injured. The Governor and the CM will also visit the accident site.
The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) quickly reached the accident site. Two relief planes have also been rushed to Kozhikode from Delhi and Mumbai.
Was it possible to avert the accident? That is the question uppermost in the minds of the Keralites. One theory has it that Deepak Vasant Sathe, a retired pilot of the Indian Air Force with 30 years experience, may have been unsighted by the heavy rain. Kozhikode, like the Bangalore airport, is a table-top airport. In view of the inclement weather, could the plane have been diverted to the nearby Kannur or the Nedumbassery airport near Kochi? We will have to await the findings of the investigation to get the answers to these questions. The pilot, reports say, made two attempts to land, and the accident occurred in the second attempt.
A similar accident occurred at Mangalore airport in July 2019 in which 158 people lost their lives. In another accident at Kozhikode airport, a plane veered off the runway. But fortunately, there were no casualties.
Reports also have it that the DGCA had warned the Kozhikode airport authorities about the airport’s vulnerability, and voiced serious safety concerns. The million-dollar question is: were the warnings ignored? (IPA Service)
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