The Kerala government on Saturday announced ₹10 lakh compensation to the families of those who died when an ill-fated Air India Express flight veered off the runway while attempting to land at the Karipur international airport here.

At least 18 people have lost their lives and 149 are under treatment at various hospitals of Malappuram and Kozhikode districts, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media after a high-level meeting held at the district in which state Governor Arif Mohammed Khan also participated.

"The state government has decided to provide a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the families of those who have lost their lives. The medical expenses of those under treatment will be taken over by the state government," Vijayan told the reporters.

The CM also said out of the 18 who died, 14 are adults and four are children. "Out of the 14 adults, seven are male and others female. Currently, 149 people are in various hospitals of Malappuram and Kozhikode, out of which 23 are in critical condition. Earlier, 23 were discharged after being provided initial medical assistance," Vijayan said.

If appropriate steps are not taken, accident similar to Friday’s airplane crash in Kozhikode could occur next at Patna, Jammu airports, air safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said in conversation with a leading website. During the Interview, Ranganathan, who is a member of a safety advisory committee constituted by the civil aviation ministry, said he had submitted a report around nine years ago, warning that the Calicut (now Kozhikode) airport was not safe for landings.

“The warnings were ignored... in my opinion, it is not an accident but a murder. Their own audits have had flagged safety issues” Ranganathan said, adding that the crash could have been well avoided. 

Ranganathan explained how table-top runways, the one in the case of the Kozhikode airport, have very little space and therefore require more safety features. 

“There’s a drop of around 70 metres at the end of the runway at the Kozhikode airport, in the case of Mangalore it is about a 100 metres. There’s no escape for an aircraft if it overruns,” he explained.