He was the only son.
He ran a small restaurant in Latehar. It was his livelihood, his family’s support system, their everyday certainty.
On 16 February, a short circuit fire left him with severe burn injuries. The hotel was damaged. He was rushed for treatment. As his condition worsened in Ranchi, doctors referred him to Delhi for advanced care.
His name was Sanjay Kumar.
His family refused to give up. They gathered their savings. They borrowed from relatives. They took loans. They arranged 8 lakh to book an air ambulance, holding on to the hope that Delhi would save him.
On February 23, a Beechcraft C90 air ambulance operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd took off from Ranchi at 7.11 pm. It was headed to Delhi.
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Twenty three minutes later, contact with Air Traffic Control was lost.
The aircraft crashed in a forested area of Jharkhand’s Chatra district. All seven people on board died.
Among them were Sanjay Kumar, his wife Basanti Devi, and their nephew Dhruv. Also on board were pilot Swaraj Deep Singh, co-pilot Vivek, Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, and nursing staff member Sachin Kumar Mishra.
Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar told PTI that sudden bad weather, strong winds and low visibility could be a reason behind the crash. The actual cause will be ascertained after a probe.
According to the DGCA website, Delhi-based non-scheduled operator Redbird has six aircraft in its fleet, including the one that crashed.
An air ambulance meant to carry hope instead became the final journey for a family that had already lost so much.
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