Air India confirms 241 of 242 on board dead

An Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday and barring one miracle survivor, no one else could be rescued. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among those killed in the crash.

The Boeing 787-8 aircraft took off at 1:38 p.m. Five minutes later, the aircraft plummeted into the B.J. Medical College hostel mess 5km from the airport, as over 100 students were gathered for lunch. A towering plume of smoke was visible from afar after a massive explosion.

Government sources said the pilots gave a ‘Mayday’ call immediately after takeoff, signalling a life-threatening emergency. The aircraft was steered by Pilot in Command Sumit Sabharwal, and co-Pilot Clive Kunder.

After meeting the sole survivor of the crash in hospital, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said none of the other passengers could be saved. “Due to the huge amount of fuel at 1.25 lakh litre and high temperature from the explosion, no one could be rescued,” he said. The Press Trust of India identified the survivor as Vishwaskumar Ramesh, who was travelling in the A11 seat of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, heading to London with his brother.

Shah said that the process of retrieving bodies was almost complete, and that the official death toll would be released after DNA samples are matched and all bodies are identified.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Union Minister of Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu, who reached the accident site in the evening. Investigating teams from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) also arrived in Ahmedabad later in the day.

The United States apex probe agency, the National Transportation Safety Body (NTSB), said it would lead a team of US investigators travelling to India to assist the AAIB. The US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration said it was “ready to launch a team immediately in coordination with the NTSB.” (The Hindu)