UPDATE2 -- Plane crashes into homes near New Delhi, 10 killed

[News_Editor]

UPDATE2 -- Plane crashes into homes near New Delhi, 10 killed

2011-05-26 03:36:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

FARIDABAD, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- An emergency medical plane carrying seven people crashed into a residential structure near the Indian capital on late Wednesday evening, local media reported.

The accident happened at around 10.45 p.m. local time when the Pilatus PC-12 single-engine aircraft crashed into a two-story structure in Jawahar colony of Faridabad, a district in northern India near New Delhi. The 2005-build aircraft was operated by Air Charter Services India.

According to local television reports, the medical plane was carrying 18-year-old cancer patient Rahul Raj who was being transported from Patna to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi for emergency treatment. Two doctors, two attendants, and two crew members were also on board.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known but took place in heavy winds and poor visibility due to a dust storm. Contact with the aircraft was lost while the plane was preparing to land.

Footage from the scene, which was aired on Indian television stations, showed the residential building on fire after the accident. It took firefighters several hours to put out the blaze, which completely engulfed the building.

According to NDTV and CNN-IBN, at least 10 people were killed in the accident, including three people who were inside the residential building. Two other people sustained injuries.

The deadly accident comes just three days after the one-year anniversary of Air India Express flight 812 which crashed at Mangalore International Airport in southern India. The crash left 158 people killed, while eight others survived.

Earlier this year, in April, 17 people were killed and others were injured when a commercial helicopter belonging to Pawan Hans crashed into a gorge while landing in Tawang, a small town in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh state.

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