Investigators probing the February air ambulance crash in Jharkhand’s
Chatra district received a fresh lead on Sunday after a part of the
aircraft’s engine was discovered in a forest area nearly three weeks
after the accident.
Villagers collecting mahua flowers in the Kasiyatu–Karmatand forest
under Simaria police station spotted the metallic aircraft component
and alerted the local authorities.
Police teams rushed to the site and recovered the engine part, which
was found around one kilometre away from the main crash site.
The air ambulance had crashed in the same forested region on 23
February, killing seven people, including the pilot.
Officials said while the main wreckage was recovered soon after the
crash, some aircraft components had remained untraceable in the dense
forest terrain.
Simaria police station officer-in-charge Surya Pratap Singh said the
recovered engine component has been secured and investigators have
been informed. “The engine part has been taken into custody and will
be examined by the investigation team,” he said, adding that the
recovery could help determine the cause of the crash.
Authorities believe that examination of the engine component may
provide important clues about whether a technical failure contributed
to the accident.