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At least 18 dead as Air India repatriation flight crashes on landing
At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured after an Air India Express passenger plane repatriating Indians stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic overshot the runway in heavy rain near the southern city of Kozhikode, officials said.
The Boeing-737 flight from Dubai to Calicut airport was carrying 190 passengers and crew, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement. Among them were 10 infants.
Television footage showed rescue workers moving around the wreckage in pouring rain. The aircraft lay split into at least two chunks after the plane’s fuselage sheared apart as it fell into a valley 30 feet below, authorities said.
“Unfortunately, 16 people have lost their lives. I offer my condolences to their next of kin and pray for speedy recovery of the injured,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet.
Friday’s crash is the worst passenger aircraft accident in the country since 2010, when an Air India Express flight, also from Dubai, overshot the runway and slid down a hill while landing in the southern Indian city of Mangalore, killing 158 people.
Both Mangalore and Calicut have table-top runways that are located at an altitude and have steep drops at one or both ends of the runway.
Media reports suggested the plane skidded off the runway of Calicut international airport, crashing nose-first into the ground. Calicut is in the southern state of Kerala, home to a large number of Indians working in the Middle East.
Puri said rescue operations had been completed and all passengers had been removed from the aircraft. Police said earlier four people were stuck in the wreckage.
The civil aviation ministry said in a statement there was no fire on board.
India, which shut down all air travel in late March to try to contain the novel coronavirus, has restarted limited international air travel.
Air India Express AXB1344, was a government-operated repatriation flight for Indians previously unable to return home because of the travel restrictions.
TV visuals showed the aircraft’s nose smashed into a brick wall, with much of the middle of the plane pulverised.
Local TV news channels showed passengers, some of them lying motionless on stretchers, brought into a hospital surrounded by health workers wearing masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. “My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” he said.
Source: Rueters
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic announced that on 6 February 2026, the 7th meeting of the Subcommittee on the Development of Cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the European Union was held in Bishkek.
The Kyrgyz delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Meder Abakirov, while the European Union delegation was headed by Charlotte Adrien, Head of the Central Asia and Afghanistan Division at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission.
With participation from representatives of various Kyrgyz ministries and agencies, the meeting focused on infrastructure and investment priorities, as well as progress in implementing key EU–Kyrgyz cooperation instruments.
Deputy Minister Abakirov, alongside government representatives, briefed the EU delegation on achievements in ongoing programs and projects, presented new proposals, and outlined future prospects for regional cooperation with the European Union.
Charlotte Adrien highlighted positive developments under the Global Gateway initiative, particularly the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Kyrgyz Republic and the European Investment Bank in the energy sector.
Both sides exchanged views on key issues of bilateral and regional cooperation and identified priority areas to further strengthen and improve the effectiveness of joint efforts in areas of mutual interest.
Ehsanullah Kamgar, spokesperson for the Badakhshan Provincial Police Command, said that 12 people were killed and three others were seriously injured in a traffic accident in Arghanjkhwah district of the province.
Kamgar added that the incident occurred at noon on Saturday in the Samdar area of Arghanjkhwah district.
According to him, the victims include men, women and children.
He explained that the incident happened when a Flancoach -type vehicle veered off the road due to poor road conditions and plunged into a ravine.
The injured were transferred to health centers for treatment, and the condition of some of them has been reported as critical.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has approved a plan to grant foreign investors residency permits ranging from one to ten years in exchange for investment in the country.
The decision was endorsed during a regular meeting of the Economic Commission, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
According to a statement from the deputy PM’s office, a designated committee has been tasked with determining the length of residency based on the volume of investment, which will be categorized under specific criteria.
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