ILYUSHIN CRASH: ANOTHER CALAMITY, FOR BELEAGURED TALUKA OF MORMUGAO BY GERRAD FERNANDES [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ON SITE, DABOLIM: In the worst-ever calamity the beleagured taluka of Mormugao has faced, two Russian-made Ilyushin IL-38 naval aircraft of the `winged stallions squadron' crashed into each other outside the Dabolim airport at about 9.45 am on Tuesday. The aircraft which were ironically participating in the silver jubilee exercise to commemmorate their induction into the air wing of the Navy collided with each other, with one aircraft landing just inside the Zuari compound adjacent to the Dabolim gate of Zuarinagar inches away from the main water pipeline supplying water to Vasco city. The distance from the two crashed jets was about less then a kilometre away. The second aircraft crashed within 100 metres of the MES college which was teeming with thousand students and next to the bungalow of chartered accountant P B Deshpande and crashed into a building under completion owned by Sayeed Bismilla, who runs Bismilla fisheries. A few metres away from the crash site a mosque is under construction the dome of which is visible. An IAF spokesman, Squadron leader Dhingra, said the accident occurred when the two aircraft were flying in formation as part of Indian Navy anniversary celebrations. Following the mid-air collision, the Dabolim International Airport air strip was closed for air traffic and was later thrown open for incoming flights only at 2 pm with the Bangalore Goa Indian Airlines flight was the first to make its landing. Other incoming flights to Goa from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai delayed for several hours due to the closure of the airstrips. WRECKAGE VISIBLE ALL AROUND When this correspondent visited the site barely 15 minutes following the crash it was observed that the jet which crashed along the Birla-Verna road inside the Zuari compound wall was completed charred. It was also observed that two motorcycles, a silver colour CBZ (GA-02-L-7094) and a blue colour Sunny (GA-02-D-6654) were fallen on the road. The mangled remains of the aircraft were lying strewn over an area of 100 metres at the Dabolim gate site. Severed limbs and parts of wreckage of the two IL-38 aircraft fitted with sophisticated radars, were strewn over a wide area. The first to reach the Dabolim gate crash site at 9.50 am, minutes after the crash, was senior manager (fire) of Zuari's Vikas Baliyan who was soon after joined by fire fighters from the navy. Baliyan saw the mangled remains of the pilots being removed from the debris of the aircrash near the Dabolim gate. Since all the bodies were dismembered, recognition or even estimate of how many bodies, was impossible. One casual worker employed by the Zuari to attend to the pipeline, also sustained injuries at the Dabolim gate crash site. At the Sayeed bungalow crash site which the aircraft had directly impacted, three labourers who were engaged in polishing operations are reportedly feared dead. When this journalist visited the site, a giant excavator crane was deployed as there were suspicions that more bodies may be lying under the debris. A part of the wreckage rammed into a high tension electricity tower, snapping off the lines. As a result, power supply to the entire port town, including airport terminus, was shut off. Telephone lines were also disrupted. Power Minister Digamber Kamat who later visited the site claimed that power supply would be restored only late in the evening with the help of Mormugao Port Trust and the Reliance Power. Much to the irritation of local residents, the navy was insensitive enough to resume its operations within hours of the crash. RESCUE AND RECOVERY TAKEN UP While it took Zuari and naval fire personnel over three hours to douse the flames and cool the debris at the Dabolim gate crash site, relief and rescue operations were still on at the Sayeed bungalow site where the Herald team visited around 3 pm. Fire Brigade personnel working on the crash site alleged that they overheard navy personnel saying that a trainee pilot was flying one of the aircraft. The Navy swung into action and by 11.30 am, had mobilised five mini cranes to recover the wreckage. The naval rescue team that rushed to spot was engaged in trying to put of the flames with the help of a fire brigade. Around eight fire tenders were pressed into service to carry out the rescue operation and put of the blaze at the bungalow. A couple of bodies removed from the crash site were charred an official carrying out rescue operations stated. Major part of the operation was carried out by Naval personnel who began to cordon off the area following the incident. The Naval personnel were engaged in collecting the metal which was scattered all around the place of the two sites. "The first and foremost job carried out by the naval authorities was to save as many as lives possible", said a supervisor from the Navy who was present at the site. "Rescue operations are in progress to take out one person trapped at the construction site," Deputy Inspector General of Police Karnal Singh said. Even after four hours the fire brigade were engaged in clearing the debris and retrieving bodies. The last body of an unidentified mason was retrieved from the debris only about 1 pm. In all, as many as eight fire tenders from the Goa State Fire Services, Navy, Mormugao Port Trust rushed to site in an effort to assist the rescue operation team. Those in need of medical attention were rushed to various surrounding hospitals -- INS Jeevanti, Chicalim Cottage Hospital and those in critical condition were rushed to Goa Medical College, Bambolim. Dr Rajnanda Dessai, Chief Medical Officer attached to the Chicalim Cottage Hospital informed this correspondent that a total of 15 persons were brought to the hospital of which two were referred to Goa Medical College while three were brought in dead. The three dead bodies that were brought were beyond identification due to the burn injuries, the doctors said. "All those who were brought here had suffered burn injuries", Dr. Dessai stated and added that those whose condition were critical were taken to Goa Medical College. Chief Medical Officer of the Mormugao Port Trust Dr P D Azgaonkar who was informed about the incident rushed to the site along with a medical team to assist the rescue operations which was assisted by medical staff of Goa Shipyard Limited. The bodies were later shifted to the Goa Medical College Hospital at Bambolim for an autopsy. LUCKY ESCAPE While 15 died in the crash including 12 naval personnel who were piloting the planes and 3 workers who were engaged in polishing the tiles in Sayyed's bungalow, the casualties could have touched a much higher figure if the plane had landed elsewhere in crowded Vasco town. MES college is just a few hundred metres away. There was panic at the MES college which is just a few hundred metres away from the Sayyed bungalow. Hysterical students were rushed by teachers to the nearby Zuari hospital. Hundreds of students with their teachers were witness to the horror. A unidentified scooterist had a providential escape when he had left his blue colour Scooty (GA-02-D-6654) on the road, moments before the wreckage of the two planes came hurling down on the ground. Police said the scooterist left behind his Scooty after it encounted mechanical problems. The owner then went in search of a mechanic and returned, only to find his Scooty in the midst of the wreckage. Senior police officers from the headquarters in Panjim rushed to the site to over see the rescue operation. Verna police has registered cases of unnatural death under Section 174 IPC and a temporary police outpost has been opened to facilitate investigations into the crashes. In Vasco, the residents who are yet to come out of the Indian Oil Corporation major tragedy that was averted had to come to yet another shock following the news of todays mid-air crash. People began to rush towards the site and the police had a tough time in controlling anxious citizens. In keeping with its tradition of discourtesy and hostility towards the civilian, the navy snatched the camera of a Vasco correspondent who was one of the first to reach the site. Journalists who rushed to the site were been give a rude treatment by the Navy personnel who even confiscated a digital camera of our lensmen who was the first to reach the incident site. It was only after several hours that the camera was handed back to the lens men, some of the naval authorities threatened to arrest the journalist if they entered anywhere close to the site. Later in the afternoon, when journalists visited the Sayeed bungalow site, naval personnel not only grabbed the camera but adopted threatening postures. A naval officer Anand Kumar even directed one of the subordinates to collected 20-30 of the naval personnel on the site to chase away the journalists away from the site. The Goa government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 200,000 for the next of kin of civilians killed, Rs 50,000 for seriously injured civilians and Rs 25,000 for those who suffered minor injuries. 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