Written by Tabassum Barnagarwala | Mumbai |
December 14, 2016 2:41:41 am
December 14, 2016 2:41:41 am
The chopper crashed two minutes before it was supposed to land, in the Filter Pada area of Aarey Colony. Express photo
Two days after a chopper crashed in the Filter Pada area of Aarey Colony, one of its three passengers, Ritesh Modi (36), succumbed to multiple injuries at Seven Hills hospital on Tuesday night. The chopper’s pilot, Prafulla Mishra (57), had died on Sunday.
“Mr Ritesh Modi declared dead at 9.10 pm in ICCU,” a statement from the hospital said.
Modi had multiple contusions in the brain and injuries on his head and chest.
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Ritesh had planned the joyride as a surprise for his wife Vrinda Modi (33), on their wedding anniversary. Their chopper ride was supposed to be an aerial view of Powai and Vihar lake.
The couple had been married for six years and have a two-year-old son. While Ritesh worked as a senior executive in Sony Entertainment, Vrinda works with Larsen and Toubro.
“As this is a medico-legal case, Aarey police station will be informed of the death,” said Dr Raj Karwa, medical superintendent at Seven Hills hospital. Doctors treating Modi said he died due to traumatic brain injury.
The chopper crashed reportedly due to a clutch failure, despite Mishra’s efforts to land safely. Apart from Mishra and the Modis, technician Sanjeev Sharma was also on board. He, along with Vrinda, is recuperating at Seven Hills hospital.
According to doctors, Vrinda has sustained 40 per cent burns and may be shifted to the Airoli Burns institute. Sharma has fractures in his hand and leg and will require only treatment and rest to recover, doctors said.
The chopper was on a 15-minute joyride, and crashed while returning to the Juhu aerodrome, two minutes before landing.
The pilot had made an emergency call to air traffic control at 11.57 am on Sunday. Seconds later, the chopper crashed in the Aarey Colony even as Mishra tried to steer away from local boys playing cricket on the hilly terrain.
Modi’s body will be taken to Borivli, where his family lives in Yogi Nagar, after a post mortem at Siddharth Hospital.
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