Air ambulance with 7 on board crash lands in Delhi

NEW DELHI: An air ambulance coming from Patna with seven persons on board crash landed in Najafgarh area of South West Delhi after both its engines apparently shut down but no one sustained any major injury.

The six-seater Beech King Air C-90A aircraft crash landed at around 2:40 PM on a field in Kair village in Najafgarh about 10 km from the Indira Gandhi international Airport, police officials said.

The 27-year old plane belonging to Chandigarh-based private operator Alchemist Airways had to force land after both its engines failed, airport officials said.

Aviation regulator DGCA has already started an inquiry into the incident.

A 61-year-old cardiac patient Virender Rai who was being flown to Delhi has been rushed to the Medanta hospital in Gurgaon immediately after the incident. The other passengers were taken to a nearby government hospital for medical examination.

The 1989-make aircraft, carrying registration number VT EQO, was in touch with to Air Traffic Control as it was in the final approach to landing.

The six other onboard persons include Rupesh (doctor), Jung Bahadur (aircraft technician), Juhi and Bhagwan Rai (both relatives of the patient), Amit Kumar (pilot) and Rohit (co-pilot).

"I pray for the early recovery of the injured. The causes of the accident shall be looked into," tweeted Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said DGCA officials have been sent to the site of the incident to conduct a probe.

"We received an emergency call from the pilot. Both the engines of the aircraft had reportedly failed. They made the landing safe. The DGCA is looking into the incident," Sharma told reporters.

As many as 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately after the aircraft crashlanded.