Over 20 officials who were involved in the Kozhikode plane crash rescue work tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. According to reports, the list of coronavirus positive people includes Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan and a few other top officials who had visited the crash site.

Health authorities are now scanning through the contact list of the affected people to contain the spread of the disease. Several top administrative officials and ministers had visited the accident site last Friday and Saturday.

Earlier, test report of two fire and rescue department officials had come positive on Thursday.

An Air India Express flight from Dubai had overshot the runway and topped into a valley at Karipur aiport killing 18 people, including both the pilots on August 7.

The flight was being operated under the Vande Bharat Mission that expatriates Indians stuck in foreign countries due to coronavirus pandemic.