"Moving, rescuing people at night was challenging": SSB on air ambulance crash in Jharkhand

Chatra (Jharkhand) [India], February 24 (ANI): Following the tragic crash of a Redbird Airways air ambulance aircraft near Simaria on Monday, Ramesh Kumar, Second in Command of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), said all seven people on board, including two crew members, were killed.
Rescue teams faced severe challenges navigating the dense jungle and carrying the bodies over a two-kilometre stretch to the main road.
Speaking to ANI, Ramesh Kumar said, "We received information that a plane had crashed. This area is quite inland. There's no road at all for two kilometres. When we arrived here at night, we saw that no one was found alive. The bodies were retrieved...It was very difficult to retrieve the bodies. We had to carry them from here for two kilometres on one side. We only had one stretcher. We had brought a stretcher from the SSB with us at night, and with that, we carried out the rescue and retrieved the bodies. It was a two-kilometre stretch up to the main road."
"We retrieved all seven bodies. The plane crashed in the middle of the jungle...It's difficult for a person to walk alone here, and this is part of a deep interior forest with a lot of bushes. Moving and rescuing people at night was certainly challenging," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the Council of Indian Aviation expressed deep concern and extended condolences over the incident.
In a press statement, the President of the Council of Indian Aviation, Dr Nitin Jadhav, on Monday, said, "The Council of Indian Aviation expresses its deepest concern and heartfelt condolences following the tragic crash of a Redbird Airways air ambulance aircraft near Simaria, in the state of, on 23 February 2026."
The statement further noted that the aircraft was operating a critical medical evacuation mission at the time of the accident.
"The aircraft, operated by, was on a critical medical evacuation mission from to, carrying a patient, medical personnel, attendants, and flight crew. Such missions represent the highest level of humanitarian aviation service, where every second is vital in saving lives," it said.
The Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd Beechcraft C90 aircraft VT-AJV was operating a medical evacuation flight from Ranchi to Delhi when it crashed in Kasariya Panchayat, Simariya block, around 7:30 pm.
The aircraft had taken off from Ranchi at 19:11 IST and lost communication and radar contact with Kolkata at approximately 100 NM South-East of Varanasi.
According to officials, a team from Delhi will arrive at the crash site later in the day to conduct a probe and retrieve the aircraft's black box. (ANI)