Mouli Mareedu: Probe team suspects Amrita was on mobile

Was Amrita Roy, the Air Asia employee, who died in a freak mishap on Sunday, busy in conversation on her mobile when the operator started retracting the aerobridge no 55 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA)? A three-member team of airport officials who began a probe on the mishap have just this suspicion.Sources at the airport told Express that Amrita had been alerted by her colleagues, while they were coming down after finishing their work inside the aircraft.They said she was standing near the edge of the aerobridge. “Perhaps, she was talking on her mobile and was so engrossed in the conversation, that she failed to take notice of it,” they said.Amrita Roy, a 25-year-old guest service officer (GSO) of Air Asia was crushed to death on Sunday under the retracting aerobridge, after passengers had boarded the Air Asia AK-224 Kuala Lumpur-bound aircraft.As a matter of routine, four to six aircraft employees wish all the passengers after they board the aircraft and check all their ticket details. After the verification, they submit the check report to the air hostess. Then, the aerobridge operator retracts the aerobridge after a siren signal is given by the concerned authorities.The three-member team comprising RGIA deputy executive officer Vikram Jaisinghania, Delhi Airport chief operating officer Peter Noyce and RGIA chief security secretary Uma Ganapathi started their probe by meeting various Air Asia employees and hearing their versions.The team also enquired with local police about the information gathered by them.They collected Amrita’s mobile phone to track the details to ascertain till what point of time she was talking on her mobile.Meanwhile, autopsy reports of Amrita have ascertained that she died on the spot due to ‘numerological shock’ rather than injuries. It revealed that her right arm was completely damaged as it got trapped in the retracting aerobridge.RGIA authorities said the investigation team would reveal the details of the probe within three days, after collecting information from the police, RGIA authority, other airline companies and employees of Air Asia.