“I Sold My Land to Make Him a Doctor”: Father Of The Onboard Doctor
In a devastating aviation incident, seven individuals perished when a Beechcraft C90 air ambulance crashed in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday night. The aircraft, operated by Delhi-based Redbird Airways and bearing tail number VT-AJV, was transporting a critically ill patient from Ranchi to Delhi.
The flight departed from Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi shortly after 7 pm but lost communication and radar contact with air traffic control in Kolkata approximately 20 minutes later, around 100 nautical miles southeast of Varanasi. It went down in a forested area near Simaria, claiming all lives on board.
Among the victims was Dr. Vikas Kumar Gupta, a physician accompanying the patient. The patient, Sanjay Kumar, 41, had sustained severe burn injuries—around 60-65%—and was receiving intensive care at Devkamal Hospital and Research Centre in Ranchi. Hospital CEO Dr. Anant Sinha told news agency ANI that the family opted to transfer him to Delhi for advanced treatment after suggestions from relatives, arranging the air ambulance through negotiations.
The other deceased included pilots Captain Vivek Vikas Bhagat and Captain Savrajdeep Singh, paramedic Sachin Kumar Mishra, and attendants Archana Devi and Dhuru Kumar.
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In the aftermath, Dr. Gupta’s father, Bajrangi Prasad, spoke to reporters in visible anguish. Addressing news agency PTI, he recounted how his son had informed him of accompanying patients to Delhi, only for the family to learn of the fatal crash. Overcome with grief, he revealed the immense sacrifices made for his son’s education: “My son was a doctor… I sold my farmland to educate him.”
Dr. Gupta, originally from Bihar’s Aurangabad district and a meritorious MBBS graduate from Cuttack, Odisha, was posted at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi and left behind a seven-year-old son.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the loss of contact and the fatalities. While the precise cause remains under investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), preliminary indications from officials point to possible inclement weather or thunderstorms contributing to the disaster.
The crash has left families shattered, with relatives of other victims also voicing sorrow over the loss and questions about regional healthcare limitations that prompted the risky transfer. Authorities have pledged a thorough probe and compensation for the bereaved.