- By Aditya Jha
- Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:56 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Jharkhand: All seven passengers on board an air ambulance died after the aircraft crashed in Jharkhand's Chatra district on Monday. The officials stated that the aircraft was carrying a burn victim from Ranchi to New Delhi; however, it crashed shortly after it took off from Ranchi airport at 7.11 pm. They further stated that the aircraft crashed due to a thunderstorm, adding that two crew members, along with five patients and their family members, died in the tragic incident.
"All seven on board the air ambulance were killed in the crash. The plane was on the way to Delhi from Ranchi," Chatra Deputy Commissioner Keerthishree was quoted as saying by PTI. "The aircraft went missing around 7.30 pm. It crashed at Bariatu Panchayat area in Simaria," she added. The deputy commissioner further stated that the site of the crash is located inside a forest.
#WATCH | Chatra, Jharkhand | On air ambulance crash in Simariya block, DC Keerthishree G says, "It crashed due to a thunderstorm... Unfortunately, the team of doctors found them dead. The total number of people is 7. Two were crew members, and the remaining five were a patient… https://t.co/YOYVIHUfhf pic.twitter.com/WjS7lo17Xo
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2026
She further stated that the aircraft crashed due to a thunderstorm, adding that all the passengers onboard died in the crash. "It crashed due to a thunderstorm... Unfortunately, the team of doctors found them dead. The total number of people is seven. Two were crew members, and the remaining five were a patient and the patient's family members," she was quoted as saying by ANI.
While confirming the deaths, SP Sumit Kumar Agarwal asserted that a team from Delhi will arrive shortly for investigation. "We got information around 10 that an accident has happened... Getting here was difficult considering the terrain...The Delhi team will come here for investigation and try to recover the black box... Total number of deaths is seven," SP Agarwal stated.
The Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV was operating the flight to Delhi when it crashed in Kasariya Panchayat around 7.30 pm. The aircraft had taken off from Ranchi at 19.11 IST and lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM southeast of Varanasi.