Mumbai, Dec 16 (HT): An Air India technician died after being sucked into an aircraft engine parked at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday.
A live tracker showed the status of the flight (AI619), scheduled to travel from Mumbai to Hyderabad, as delayed by more than an hour. The incident happened when the jet was being pushed back for departure.
"An Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619; the incident is being investigated," Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani said. "We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport," he added.
"The body is still stuck in the engine, efforts are going on to retrieve it," an airport official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
An Air India source said a probe has been ordered into the incident. "At the moment, we are absolutely clueless on how this person was near the aircraft. Only an inquiry can establish whose negligence it was and whether the engine should have been switched on at that time," the official said.