Air India Express Pilot Deepak Vasant Sathe, Ex-IAF Wing Commander, Who Lost His Life To Save 189 Onboard

Several casualties have been reported during the mishap including that of the Pilot Captain Deepak Vasanth Sathe, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander who lost his life while saving 189 on the board.

Kozhikode District Collector confirmed death of Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe and First Officer Akhilesh Kumar. (Image: Twitter/PTI)

New Delhi: Pilot Captain Deepak Vasanth Sathe, an ex-IAF Wing Commander has lost life in the tragic Air India plane crash that took place at the Karipur airport in Kerala on Friday evening while en-route from Dubai.  As per the reports, the Air India Express flight veered off the runway after overshooting and fuselsge split into two parts during landing at Karipur Airport at around 7.45 pm today. The Air India Express Flight (IX 1344) with as many as 174 passengers, 10 Infants, 2 Pilots and 5 cabin crew on board was operating under the Vande Bharat Mission launched by the Government of India to repatriate the stranded Indians in Due due to the Coronavirus lockdown and Pandemic. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the incident saying "Air India Express AXB1344, B737 Dubai to Calicut, person on board 191, visibility 2000 meter, heavy rain, after landing Runway 10, continue running to the end of the runway and fell down in the valley and broke down into two pieces." Several casualties have been reported during the mishap including that of the Pilot Captain Deepak Vasanth Sathe, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander who lost his life while saving 189 on the board. The Kozhikode District Collector Sree Ram Sambasivarao confirmed to TNM the death of Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe and First Officer Akhilesh Kumar who flew for Air India. Upon acknowledging the sad demise of Sathe, netizens expressed their grief and poured in RIP messages in his honor. A user handle Parveen Kaswan tweeted: Respect sir. You did your best. Before joining civil aviation you were decorated Indian Air Force pilot. Captain/Wing Commander DV Sathe.

Respect sir. You did your best. Before joining civil aviation you were decorated Indian Air Force pilot. Captain/Wing Commander DV Sathe 🙏🏻🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/dz4NMDozLM

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) August 7, 2020

As per the initial reports coming in from the sources, about 40 ambulances have reached the accident spot to rescue the passengers. As many as 170 people have been rescued safely from the Air India Express flight. NDRF DG while speaking to ABP News told that of the rescued personals, at least 113 people have suffered injuries following which, the patients been admitted to a hospital. The passengers sitting in the front row have been seriously injured. The condition of 12 passengers who were brought to a private hospital is reported to be serious. Meanwhile, Malappuram SP told news agency ANI that 14 people lost their lives in the major mishap while 15 people were seriously injured. Reacting on the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and many others have expressed their grief and extended condolences to the families who suffered the loss.