His Family Borrowed 7 Lakh For Air Ambulance, Journey To Save 1 Killed 7

The family of the Jharkhand hotelier, who was being rushed to Delhi in an air ambulance that crashed yesterday, borrowed lakhs for the flight and his treatment at a top hospital in the national capital. But in a tragic turn of events, the journey to save a life ended in seven deaths.

The Beechcraft C90 air ambulance, operated by Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, took off from Ranchi at 7.11 pm. It lost contact with Air Traffic Control about 20 minutes later. The plane crashed in a forest area in Chatra district, apparently due to poor weather conditions.

The seven on board who died in the tragedy include Sanjay Kumar Shaw, the patient who was being rushed to Delhi after a burn injury, his wife Archana Devi, relative Dhruv Kumar, doctor Vikas Kumar Gupta, nurse Sachin Kumar Mishra, and pilots Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Captain Savrajdeep Singh.

A Hotel Fire, And 65% Burns

Sanjay ran a hotel at Chandwa in Jharkhand's Latehar district. Last Monday, a short circuit in his hotel caused a fire and Sanjay was caught in the blaze. He suffered 65 per cent burns and was being treated at a private hospital in Ranchi. When his condition did not improve, doctors referred him to Sri Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, a top privately-run healthcare centre.

Sanjay's condition ruled out a journey by road. So his family reached out to relatives and borrowed Rs 7.5 lakh for an air ambulance. Some money was also kept aside for his treatment in Delhi.

Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta accompanied the patient on the air ambulance

Families In Shock

Vijay Shaw, Sanjay's elder brother, went to send him off at the Ranchi airport. "We had just reached home when we learnt about the crash from TV news. Everything ended in a moment."

The family said the crash, which killed both Sanjay and his wife Archana, has left their two children orphans. They complained that if Ranchi had better medical facilities, Sanjay would never need to be airlifted. "Had we given proper treatment to my brother-in-law Sanjay in Ranchi, precious lives could have been saved. I lost both Sanjay and my sister Archana Devi," a relative told news agency PTI.

Anant Sinha, CEO of Devkamal Hospital in Ranchi, where Sanjay was being treated, told PTI that the air ambulance was arranged by one of their patients.

Bajrangi Prasad, father of Dr Vikas Kumar Gupta, said he sold all his land to make his son a doctor Dr Gupta was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi. "He has a seven-year-old son... He was meritorious and completed his MBBS from Odisha's Cuttack," said Prasad.