Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, Sunil Ambekar ji expressed deep grief over the tragic Air India plane crash in Gujarat today on June 12. Calling the incident extremely unfortunate, he offered heartfelt condolences to all the victims.
“Today’s plane crash in Gujarat is extremely unfortunate. We express our heartfelt condolences to all the victims of this tragic incident and pay tribute to them. We pray to Bhagwan to give strength to their families to bear this grief. Om Shanti.”
आज गुजरात में हुयी विमान दुर्घटना अत्यंत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है। इस घटना में पीड़ित सभी मृतकों के प्रति शोक संवेदना प्रकट करते हुए उन सभी को श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते है । उन सभी के परिवारजनों को इस दुःख को सहन करने की ईश्वर शक्ति प्रदान करें यहीं श्री चरणों में प्रार्थना ।ॐशांती ।…
— Sunil Ambekar (@SunilAmbekarM) June 12, 2025
Air India confirmed that flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick was involved in an accident shortly after takeoff at 13:38 IST.
“Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident,” the airline said in a statement.
The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC.
The aircraft, immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. An official said that heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site.
Rescue and relief operations were ongoing, with multiple agencies working on-site to assist survivors and investigate the cause of the crash.
