Scots family in Indian jet crash

The plane disintegrated on impact

A doctor and his two children are fighting for their lives in hospital after a plane crash in which 55 people died.

Dr Pramond Kumar, of Newton Mearns, Glasgow, and his teenage son and daughter are among only seven survivors of the crash in India.

They are reported to have leapt from the Alliance Air jet seconds before it crashed while attempting to land.

Dr Pramond Kumar: Works in Glasgow

Dr Kumar's wife, Kirin Rajgarhia, 41, was among those killed as the Boeing 737-200 crashed on a government housing complex a mile from Patna airport, in Bihar State, on Monday.

A mass of smouldering, twisted metal was all that remained of the jet after it burst into flames when it hit the ground, killing 51 passengers and four people on the ground.

Indian media reports said Dr Kumar, 45, his daughter Pratchi, 18, and his son Ketan, 13, were among the handful of survivors taken to hospital in New Delhi.

Visiting family

Dr Kumar, an orthopaedic registrar at Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary, is in a critical condition and receiving treatment on a mobile ventilator.

Ketan and Pratchi are also both critically ill.

They were visiting family in Patna during a month-long tour of the country when the crash happened.

Kirin Rajgarhia: Among the dead

Their mother worked at a nursing home in Barrhead, Glasgow.

Aviation experts are investigating theories that a sudden burst of wind may have pushed the state-owned plane on to two houses on the complex.

The federal Civil Aviation Ministry had dismissed doubts about the safety of the 20-year-old jet, which was part of a fleet due to be phased out within two years.

Engineers have recovered the "black boxes", the sealed units which record flight data and conversations, from the aircraft's cockpit after sifting through the wreckage.

Hospital staff 'upset'

Dr Kumar had worked as a staff grade doctor in the orthopaedic department of the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow since 1994.

A spokeswoman said: "Staff are very upset to hear the news and concerned for Dr Kumar and his family."

A spokesman for Edinburgh University confirmed Pratchi Rajgarhia was a first year medical student and was preparing to start her second year in October.

Pratchi Rajgarhia: University student

He said: "We have only just learned that Pratchi was injured in this tragic incident and while we are relieved that she appears to have survived, we are very sorry to hear reports of the death of a member of her close family."

Ketan attends Eastwood High School, where headteacher Bob Gibson said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened by this news.

"Ketan is currently in second year and Pratchi was with us a few years ago. Both are very bright and popular with staff and pupils.

"We will offer all the support the school can at this difficult time."

A spokesman for the Indian Embassy in London said they had not had any direct contact with the family but had received requests from friends in Glasgow concerned about their condition.