The plane was carrying a medical crew and several passengers. The plane requested to change its route after communicating with air traffic control.

Seven people were killed after an air ambulance crashed in the eastern state of Jharkhand shortly after takeoff, according to local media and official sources.

The Indian news agency PTI reported that the plane went down near Simaria in Chatra district, while it was en route from Ranchi to Delhi, carrying a medical crew and several passengers. The aircraft disappeared from radar screens around 7:30 PM local time, and its wreckage was later found in Bariatu Panchayat, within a dense forest.

Emergency Flight

Deputy Commissioner of Chatra, Keerthishree Ji, confirmed that all seven people on board the air ambulance were killed, noting that the flight was an emergency mission transporting the medical crew quickly.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation stated that the plane, operated by Redbird Airways Limited, was a Beechcraft C90 with registration VT-AJV.

The aircraft had requested a route change after contacting air traffic control in Kolkata due to poor weather conditions, before communication was lost at 19:34 IST, about 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi.

Authorities noted that district search and rescue teams reached the crash site, while an investigation team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will conduct a formal inquiry to determine the causes of the crash.