298 baggage pieces retrieved so far from Kozhikode plane crash site

Air India Express on Thursday said it has retrieved 298 baggage pieces so far from the plane crash site at the Kozhikode airport with the help of the US-based company Kenyon International.

Moreover, it said a total of 92 passengers injured in the plane crash in Kozhikode have been discharged till date from hospitals after "obtaining complete fitness".

Seven passengers were discharged from various hospitals in Kozhikode between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning, the airline indicated.

It said on Wednesday morning that a total of 85 injured passengers have been discharged.

An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway during landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rains on the night of August 7.

The B737 plane fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into pieces, killing 18 people, including both the pilots.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had on Saturday said that 149 people have been admitted to hospitals, 23 discharged, while three were critically injured in the plane crash.

The airline said with the help of Kenyon International, 298 baggage pieces have been retrieved so far from the accident site.

"The checked-in baggage after proper identification will be handed over to the passengers after carrying out due verification," it noted.

The injured passengers of IX-1344 flight are being treated at various hospitals of Kozhikode, the airline said.

"As on date, 92 injured passengers have been discharged from various hospitals after obtaining their complete fitness," it said on Thursday morning.

Air India Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of national carrier Air India, has only B737 aircraft in its fleet.

The airline had on Sunday said the mortal remains of 16 passengers killed in the plane crash have been handed over to their families, and added that authorities were investigating the accident.