Eight Saudi nationals, who were onboard GF 270 on Bahrain-Kochi flight which skidded off on arrival at Kochi airport at 1.25am Bahrain time, are safe, according to Gulf Air officials.
Katherine Kaczynska, head of Corporate Communications at Gulf Air told 24X7 News Bahrain that there were eight Saudis, one British and one Bahraini nationals onboard on flight GF 270 which met an accident on arrival at Kochi International Airport on the wee hours on Monday. However, all Saudi nationals were safe.
In the meanwhile, a 10-member team of officials from Gulf Air and Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs left Manama to join the initial investigations of flight GF 270 which skidded off from the tarmac at the Kochi airport leaving seven injured, one seriously.
Earlier, Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air confirmed that flight GF270 from Bahrain to Kochi has been involved in an accident while landing at Kochi International Airport at 01:45 hours on Monday.
The airline’s official spokesman Karunakaran Srinivasan on his way to Kochi from Dammam International Airport told 24X7 News Bahrain that the 10-member team would participate in the initial investigations at Kochi.
“The team comprised of Civil Aviation Affairs Bahrain and Gulf Air and at this stage we don’t know about the Airbus officials to join the investigation,” he said, adding Airbus might join investigations at later stage.
“The A-320 aircraft was carrying 136 passengers which include one infant and six crew members, skidded off the runway on landing. All passengers evacuated and transferred to the airport terminal,” the airline in an initial report said.
“Gulf Air can confirm that one passenger, an Indian national, was injured. He was given immediate medical aid and was taken to the hospital for further treatment. His condition is not critical.
“Gulf Air is coordinating with relevant authorities in investigating the cause of the incident. At this point, we cannot confirm the extent of the damage to the aircraft. Further investigations are ongoing,” the airline in an official statement said.
The Director General of Civil Aviation E K Bharat Bhushan has ordered an inquiry into an incident in which a Gulf Air flight GF-270.
Some passengers panicked and jumped from the aircraft through the emergency door even before the ladder was brought to the plane.
Heavy rains and strong winds have been lashing Kochi airport since last night are likely to be blamed for Gulf Air accident.
Flights to Kochi were diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore airports. While an Etihad flight from Kuwait, two Jet airways flights from Sharjah and Muscat have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram, an Oman-Kochi flight has been sent to Bangalore. Passengers are being brought by road to Kochi from Thiruvananthapuram.
According to the official reports, the scheduled departures of three flights of Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways, which were at the airport at the time of mishap, have been delayed.
Bhushan said the runway has been blocked till 3pm (local India time). “A Disabled Aircraft Retrieval Kit is being sent from Mumbai,” he said. Bhushan said the reason behind the mishap was not yet known. “There was visibility till 2,000 metres. Only after a preliminary enquiry, the cause of the mishap will be known,” he added.