By A Correspondent- Air India Express skidded off a runway and split in two while landing Friday in heavy rain in the southern state of Kerala killing and injuring at least 18 and 123 passengers respectively.

Both pilots, including Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, were among those killed in the crash.

Abdul Karim, a senior Kerala state police officer, said at least 15 of the injured were in critical condition, and that rescue operations were over.

The NDTV news channel said the plane flew from Dubai to Kozhikode, also called Calicut, in Kerala, India’s southernmost state.It was a special evacuation flight bringing people home to India who had been trapped abroad because of the coronavirus.

Dubai-based aviation consultant Mark Martin said that while it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, low visibility, wet runway, low cloud base, all leading to very poor braking action is what looks like triggered the crash.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister’s Office has said all the accident victims will be tested for COVID-19, including those who died in the crash adding that so far, only one victim has tested positive for Coronavirus.

-TimesOfIndia