NEW DELHI — A small chartered plane being used as an air ambulance to ferry a patient to a New Delhi hospital crashed Wednesday into a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of the Indian capital, killing 10 people, government officials said. According to the Press Trust of India, the airplane lost control during a dust storm and plunged from about 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). The aircraft had seven passengers on board and was just minutes from landing when it slammed into a residential building in the city of Faridabad, south of New Delhi, Pradeep, a local magistrate who uses only one name, told the New Delhi TV channel.
The plane broke into two and caught fire, charring part of the house. Hours after the crash, the plane’s tail was still perched on the house’s roof and its engine lay in a nearby alley. All those on board were killed and three others living in the house died as well, Pradeep said. Two other people were injured. The bodies were charred beyond recognition, according to Faridabad Police Commissioner P.K. Agarwal.
The aircraft was bringing a critically ill businessman from the eastern city of Patna to a hospital in New Delhi, said Dr. Alok Kumar, owner of the Jagdish Hospital, where the patient had been staying. The passengers included two pilots, two doctors and a medical attendant, he said. – Khaleejtimes
