India bars Boeing 737 Max 8 planes with immediate effect

India is likely to ban the use of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft by the country's airline companies and the decision on the issue may be taken on Wednesday, a senior official of aviation watchdog DGCA said Tuesday. On Sunday, a 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed near Addis Ababa killing 157 people, including four Indians.

"We are likely to ban the use of 737 Max 8 by Indian airlines. The final decision is going to be taken by Wednesday. The discussions are ongoing," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official told news agency PTI.

SpiceJet has around 12 such aircraft in its fleet, while Jet Airways has five, which are currently grounded.The incident on Sunday was second such crash involving the 737 MAX 8 aircraft in less than five months.

In October last year, an aircraft operated by Lion Air crashed killing over 180 people in Indonesia. In a tweet on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that he directed the DGCA to undertake safety assessment of Boeing 737-MAX planes being flown by domestic carriers. 

(With PTI inputs)