Malayalam actor Prithviraj took to social media to pay tribute to Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe - the pilot who died in the Kozhikode plane crash on Friday. He was among the 18 people who died.
Prithviraj wrote on Instagram, "Rest in peace Wing Cdr (Retd) Sathe. Had the privilege of knowing him personally. Will cherish our conversation sir." The caption implies that Prithviraj knew the pilot personally.
The other pilot who died in the crash was First Officer Akhilesh Kumar.
On 7 August, an Air India flight carrying passengers from Dubai to Kozhikode, Kerala crashed after skidding off the runway at the Karipur Airport. The flight was a part of the Vande Bharat mission. All passengers aboard were Indians stuck in Dubai amidst the coronavirus lockdown.
Prithviraj himself was stranded in Jordan and recently returned to India with his film crew. The actor and crew travelled in a Vande Bharat flight. On 22 May, they arrived at the Cochin International Airport by an Air India flight.
Many celebrities have taken to social media to express their sadness and shock over the unfortunate incident. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shabana Azmi, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar are some of the celebrities who have offered condolences on social media.
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