AI staffer wounded as IndiGo apron bus hits him at KIA

An apron bus ferrying passengers to an IndiGo aircraft on Saturday evening knocked down an Air India contract employee and left him seriously wounded.

A passenger tweeted that the mishap could have occurred at 6.45 pm as the flight 6E2808 was preparing to take off at 6.55 pm to Delhi.

IndiGo released a statement Sunday, saying the contract staff suffered minor injuries.

The passenger tweeted: “IndiGo confirms the incident involving a ferry coach hit at Bangalore airport on Feb 23 before the departure of 6E2808. The staff escaped unhurt with minor injuries. Concerned authorities have been notified, investigation in progress with full cooperation from IndiGo.”

A senior Air India official said Shiv Shankar, a contract employee with the AI Engineering Services Limited, was returning to the terminal after despatching Bengaluru-Male flight AI265.

“The IndiGo bus hit him and he was dragged for some distance before it stopped,” the official said, confirming that Shankar suffered serious injuries including a lumbar (vertebrae of spine) fracture. “He’s in the hospital and all of us are praying for his recovery,” the official said.

A passenger said: “Indigo bus tarmac shuttle hit the ground staff worker. All of us came down from the bus and lifted the bus manually to pull the man from the middle of the bus. I wish early recovery of this man. All happened in front of everyone including me. He was wearing red colour uniform. He was 100% ground support staff.”

Police, however, said they did not receive information on the incident. “We haven’t been informed of the incident; nor did we receive any memo from hospitals regarding injuries inside the airport,” a senior police officer said.