The rain had just begun to fall lightly that May morning in 2010 as Flight IX-812 approached Mangalore. Home was just minutes away for the 166 onboard. Then, the descent turned fatal. The aircraft overshot the tabletop runway, split apart, and erupted into flames—killing 158, leaving only eight survivors.
Fifteen years later, survivors still relive those moments. Uduma resident Krishnan Koolikunnu, now 62, recalls sensing something wrong: “The plane was too fast. There was a screech, then darkness. I crawled through a crack in the fuselage and ran into the forest.” Fellow survivor K P Mayankutty, from Kannur, can’t forget seat 22F, or the sound of children crying. “The fireball is still in my dreams,” he says.
Hospitals became scenes of grief. Families identified loved ones using jewellery or tattoos. Promised compensation, jobs, and support never came. “We were forgotten,” Mayankutty laments.
Ten years later, history repeated. On August 7, 2020, another Air India Express flight crashed in Kozhikode, claiming 21 lives. Survivor Shahala Shajahan recalls: “It felt like the sky collapsed. I was trapped. Locals rushed to save us—they were our angels.”
Despite quicker rescue efforts, psychological wounds remain. Survivors grapple with PTSD, broken families, and lost livelihoods. “I gave my wife myself instead of the necklace I lost,” Mayankutty says. “But we paid dearly.”
“There’s no system to help us rebuild,” says Krishnan. “We survived. But survival isn’t healing. It’s a daily battle to live again.”
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