NEW DELHI: A chartered air ambulance with seven people on board crashed in eastern India on Monday, the country’s aviation regulator said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Beechcraft C90 operating a “medical evacuation (Air Ambulance) flight” crashed in the Kasaria area of the eastern state of Jharkahnd.
The fate of the seven people, including two crew members, was not immediately known.
The DGCA said in a statement posted late Monday on social media that a “search and rescue team is at the location,” adding the a team of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was also being dispatched.
The aircraft operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd. had taken off Monday evening from Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand, and was flying to Delhi carrying a patient and medical staff.
“The aircraft requested for deviation due to weather” and lost contact with air traffic radar in 23 minutes, DCGA said.
Local media reported the aircraft crashed into a forest.
Last month, a state leader from the western Maharashtra state and four others were killed when their chartered aircraft crashed while landing at the city of Baramati.