Malappuram: The condition of eight, out of the 101 passengers, who were injured in the Air India Express (AIE) plane crash at Karipur airport here, is still critical, officials said Monday. So far 71 injured passengers of the ill-fated Air Indian Express have been discharged till now. The passengers were being treated at various hospitals here and in Kozhikode.
“A total of 71 persons have been discharged till now out of the 101 admitted to various hospitals. However, the condition of eight are critical,” a senior official of the Malappuram district administration said.
Meanwhile, Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said the district administration was planning to initiate the process to release the baggage of the passengers. “We want to release the baggage to the relatives and the passengers. It’s more important. It normally starts after three-four weeks but here we are trying to finish the process within two weeks,” Gopalakrishnan said.
The district administration had collected the baggage of the passengers soon after the rescue operations were over.
Eighteen people, including the pilot and co-pilot of the AIE flight from Dubai lost their lives, when it overshot the tabletop runway at the airport here while landing in heavy rains. The aircraft fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions Friday night.
Air India had earlier said Sunday the bodies of 16 passengers, who lost their lives in the crash, have been handed over to their families. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot of the AIE flight, were handed over to their families Saturday.
The body of co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar was cremated Sunday in the presence of family members and officials of Air India and Air India Express at Mathura, his hometown, the national carrier said.
