Manta Air seaplane crash lands outside VIA, all on-board safe
Two injuries were reported from the nine people on board
Manta Air confirmed the seaplane upturned and crashed at around 07:31am on Saturday
A Manta Air seaplane crash landed outside Velana International Airport (VIA) while attempting to land on Saturday morning, leaving two of the nine people on-board injured.
Manta Air confirmed the seaplane upturned and crashed at around 07:31am on Saturday, while the aircraft was attempting to land at the VIA Seaplane Lagoon.
Nine people were aboard the Manta Air craft at the time of the accident, which included six passengers and three crew members, according to the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), who were also deployed to the scene following the crash. One person is reported to have dislocated a shoulder in this incident, with Manta Air confirming that all those onboard had been discharged from Tree Top Hospital and Hulhumale' Hospital just before noon on Saturday.
Manta Air went on to thank the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) for their assistance following the crash. The airline also extended their gratitude to the hospitals that treated the injured after the crash, and noted the professionalism displayed by their crew in taking care of passengers during the incident.
Manta Air, which had a fleet of roughly 10 aircrafts by the end of last year, is a Maldivian domestic airline. Manta Air began operations in February 2019, at a time when national airline Maldivian and business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim's Villa Air were the only domestic airlines active in the Maldives.
Declaring that their top priority now was to provide any and all assistance to the families of the passengers and crew on board the crashed seaplane, Manta Air said that they would continue efforts to use media in maintaining transparency in communicating with the public on all matters.
