All Air India crash survivors to be tested for Covid-19: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
The Kerala Minister Chairman Pinarayi Vijayan said that everyone on board the Air India Express flight, which skidded off the airport runway, which killed 18 people on Friday evening, at the international Koshikode airport, was tested for the infection of Covid-19. To date, only one victim has tested viral disease positively.
The chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the next of kin of the passengers who died in the air crash that took place at the Karipur International Airport last evening, a statement from the Kerala chief minister’s office (CMO) said.
The Kerala Government will bear the health costs of anyone who was injured in the incident, regardless of the hospitals in which they were, besides compensation for the victims, said Vijayan. The Chief Minister ordered the authorities to provide all survivors with appropriate medical assistance.
Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday also lauded the “fast response” of the local people in being the first to reach the aircraft crash site to rescue passengers, braving inclement weather and Covid-19 fears.
The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the tabletop runway at the airport in Kozhikode while landing amid heavy rainfall and fell into a gorge 35 feet below splitting into two parts on Friday night.
Vijayan, who has rushed to Kozhikode, said in a tweet that the fast response of the local people and the officials made all the difference. “Yesterday, the fast response of local people and officials made all the difference. They braved bad weather and Covid-19 fears to rescue their fellow beings,” the CM said in a tweet.
The long queues of people who had volunteered to donate blood were just another example of locals coming forward to help, Vijayan said.
