Mangaluru: Its six years today, since the ghastly tragedy of Air India Express crash at Mangaluru International Airport. It took away 158 lives and left behind several unhealed wounds.
An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 with 166 passengers on board overshot the runway and crashed into a valley. It was one of the worst aviation disasters witnessed by the country. Happy passengers who were waiting to meet their loved ones were reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes. Only eight of them survived miraculously.
Six years down the lane, people still remember the burning airplane, charred bodies, and distraught family members. The horrifying incident can’t be erased from the memories of the public. Following the crash, there was complete chaos in identifying the bodies in regards to the compensation.
Several families lost their loved and close ones. It is difficult to even imagine how the families of the dead were going through the trauma. No amount of compensation could ever console them.
To perpetuate the memory of the victims of IX812 crash, New Mangaluru Port has almost completed constructing a park named ‘22/5 Park’ near Kuloor, where 22 unidentified bodies were buried.
The government and Air India have not fulfilled some of its promises even after six years of the crash.
The then UPA minister Praful Patel had promised to extend the runway at the airport from 8000ft to 9000ft which is still a dream. The State government has to acquire the land and hand it over to the Central government for the extension of the runway.
Though the governments have changed in both State and Centre the condition of the runway still remains the same.
