At least 245 people, including four medical students having lunch in their hostel cafetaria, are feared to have died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. International aviation experts say this is the worst aviation disaster in the world.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college building in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Thursday afternoon. The aircraft developed snags just within 30 seconds after it took off. In the next five minutes, the world’s worst air disaster unfolded in Gujarat, India.
The Air India flight bound for London with 242 people on board crashed in less than five minutes after it took off from the Ahmedabad airport in Ahmedabad. This is a preliminary death toll confirmed by local police.
Union home minister Amit Shah who rushed to Ahmedabad said that the plane had 1.25 lac litres of fuel and hence it seems impossible to have more survivors, He however emphasised that he did meet a survivor at the Civil Hospital. This is an accident and nobody can stop accidents, the minister said, laying all conspiracy theories to rest.
The plane crashed on a B. J. Medical College Hostel and medical and para medical staff residential quarters at the highly populated Meghaninagar area of the city. At least 80 medical students were having their lunch when the plane crashed at around 1.40 pm on Thursday afternoon. Four students including Aryabn Rajput, Manas Bhaduand Rakesh Deora have been declared dead. The official death toll of the tragedy has not yet been announced.
Aviation experts say this is the worst air crash disaster of the world. The plane developed snags just 30 seconds after it took off. There is cctv footage that shows how the aircraft is snagging and slightly stalling. The pilot apparently gave a Mayday call to the Air Traffic Control but the plane crashed before the ATC could respond. All pre-flight checks were done and there were no technical faults or irregularities detected before the flight took off.
Of the 242 passengers on board, 169 were Indian citizens including two pilots and ten other crew members. The flight had 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian citizen. The plane came down in a residential area, crashing on to a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of London.
City police chief G.S. Malik earlier had confirmed that 204 passenger bodies had been recovered. By 10.30 pm, the death toll of the Ahmedabad plane crash had crossed 245.This included four non-passengers who were hit by the plane crash in their college cafeteria.
Some bodies were still missing, authorities said. Though Indian Express and Associated Press reported that all 242 passengers on board the Air India flight had died, this correspondent found one survivor. Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen who actually walked out of the plane after the crash. He is right now at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital receiving primary aid. He along with his older brother were going to London. Vishwas is a British citizen. He and his brother could not get a seat together and were hence seated on different rows. Vishwas was on seat 11A. He told this correspondent that all he could see bodies were around him. He is looking for his brother.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also on this flight going to London to meet his daughter. Though police and official sources have not confirmed his death till 9.30 pm, the State BJP chief C R Paatil has confirmed that he has been a victim of this tragedy. Several BJP leaders have offered condolences to the Rupani family. His wife Anjali who was in London with the daughter and was going to come back to Gujarat next week has left London for Ahmedabad. She will land tomorrow after noon. The dead include kids and infants, sources have confirmed.
The Gujarat government will be handing over bodies to the families only after three days after DNA tests. State Health Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said all family members have been given addresses to come for the DNA test.
The plane crash saw students of B J Medical college who were dining in a chaotic situation and in severe shock. Several have sustained burn injuries. Residents of family quarters also have reported severe injuries. Since death figures have not been announced, we cannot confirm the toll but there definitely have been students and other resident deaths according to local police and civil hospital staff.
Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the building into which it crashed, photographs and videos from the area showed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.
The plane crashed on top of the dining area of state-run B.J. Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well.
The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British Citizens, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India also has confirmed this.
Ironically, the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service in the world. It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014 according to Flightradar24.
“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X.
The crash occurred within five minutes of the take off. According to CCTV footage by locals the plane crashed below like a stone and dashed with a building. Soon there was a huge fire. Several students jumped from the second floor and are now recuperating with injuries after the plane crashed and their canteen was damaged.
Ramilaben said her son was one of such students.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 p.m. (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
Aviation experts are clueless about the reason for the crash though one expert said that it was unusual that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up. Ahmedabad airport is also notorious for bird hits but there are questions whether a bird hit could end in such a massive tragedy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed all conspiracy angles by stating that nobody can stop accidents and this was an accident. He said that with the plane carrying 1.25 lac litres of fuel, survival at first glance seemed impossible. He said that bodies would be handed over after a DNA test. He added that Gujarat was Viksit, (developed) and the Forensic Science Laboratory and medical facilities were well equipped to handle the DNA tests efficiently and in a short time. All lodging and boarding expenses of family members of the deceased who are coming to Ahmedabad will be handled by the Gujarat government, he said. Expressing his condolences to the plane crash victims, Amit Shah said the aviation ministry will conduct a detailed investigation.
Boeing shares have fallen about 6.8 percent in pre-market trade following the crash. Several international teams will be in Ahmedabad to analyse the plane crash. However, as of now, Ahmedabad airport which sees about 140 daily flights has been closed down. It will open tonight for VIP movement. Aircraft engine maker GE will also be sending a technical team to India.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,”Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were “devastating”, and that he was being kept informed as the situation developed.
The last Boeing accident in India was in 2010 when Boeing -737 overshot the table-top runway at Kozhikode International Airport in Kerala killing 21 people.
The government-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022,and merged with Vistara – a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024. Tata Group has announced a one crore compensation to the family of the deceased in the Ahmedabad plane crash.
Also Read: Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Dies In Plane Crash: State BJP Chief C R Paatil https://www.vibesofindia.com/former-gujarat-chief-minister-vijay-rupani-dies-in-plane-crash-state-bjp-chief-c-r-paatil/
