Air Ambulance Crash Kills All Onboard in India

(MENAFN) An air ambulance went down Monday in India's eastern state of Jharkhand, killing all seven people aboard — including two crew members — in what officials are confirming as a total loss of life with no survivors.

The private chartered aircraft lost communication shortly after departing from the state capital Ranchi, according to a statement issued by India's Civil Aviation Directorate on X, the US social media platform. Radar and radio contact vanished just 23 minutes into the flight, after the pilot requested a weather-related route deviation.

The wreckage was located near Simaria in Chatra district, local Jharkhand officials confirmed. A police official in Chatra told media early Tuesday that there were no survivors among the seven onboard.

The downed aircraft was identified as a Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90, registration VT-AJV, operating a medical evacuation flight bound for the national capital New Delhi — a mission that ended in tragedy before it could reach its destination.

Authorities had mobilized search teams to locate the plane before the crash site was identified, with recovery operations subsequently launched in the district.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Weather conditions at the time of the flight are expected to be a focal point of the inquiry, given the crew's last known communication cited meteorological concerns as the reason for the requested deviation.

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