Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on June 12 that there was no chance of saving anyone in the London-bound Air India plane crash because of the high temperature caused due to the burning of almost 1.25 lakh litres of fuel in the aircraft.
Expressing condolences to family members of those killed, Shah said the exact number of deaths will be officially released only after DNA tests. Shah revealed that approximately 1000 DNA tests have to be conducted.
“The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone… I visited the crash site,” the Home Minister told the media.
“This afternoon, Air India flight AI-171 crashed… The entire nation is grieving and is standing together with the bereaved families… First of all, I express my solidarity with the victims and the families of the people of the incident on behalf of the Union Government, the Prime Minister and the Gujarat Government,” the Home Minister said.
“In just 10 minutes of the incident, we got the information. After that I informed the Prime Minister, the Gujrat Home Minister, the Control Room of the Home Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Civil Aviation Minister. The Prime Minister instantly called back, and the personnel from the Union and state governments jumped in jointly for the relief and rescue operations,” he added.
The Air India AI171 flight, en route to London, with 230 passengers and 12 crew members crashed soon after it took off from the Ahmedabad airport.
Amidst the tragedy, Shah shared a glimmer of hope, mentioning the survival of one passenger whom he had personally met at the hospital.
“In the flight, there were 230 passengers from India and overseas and 12 crew members aboard. From this we got some good news about the survival of one passenger. I had met him… After DNA tests and identification of passengers, authorities can only confirm the total number of deaths,” Shah stated.
Shah highlighted the Gujarat government’s adherence to disaster management protocols following the crash and confirmed that the retrieval of the dead bodies is nearly complete.
Shah also assured that the remains of the victims will be handed over to the families once the identification process is complete.
“After the crash, the Gujarat government, in many ways, maintained all the protocols for disaster management… The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone… I visited the crash site. The retrieval of the dead bodies is almost complete… The DNA samples of the family members of the passengers are being collected… The family members of the victims from foreign countries were also informed, and after they arrive, their DNA will be collected. DNA collection of the retrieved bodies is complete … Around 1000 DNA tests will be done; we have the infrastructure for that… The remains will be handed over to the families after the DNA tests,” the Union Home Minister said.
“In the review meeting, every aspect was discussed. The Aviation Minister has initiated their investigation and instructed that it be carried out rapidly… I thank all the agencies involved in the relief and rescue operations,” he added.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister took stock of the crash site of the London-bound aircraft in the Meghani Nagar area in Ahmedabad, where it hit a doctors’ hostel soon after takeoff.
The Union Home Minister was accompanied by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and the state’s Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi.
The London-bound flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after it took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport this afternoon. As per DGCA, the crash occurred at approximately 1:30 PM IST.
After the crash, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has deployed around 150 personnel to assist in the ongoing rescue and relief operations following the crash.
According to a statement by the CRPF, troops from the 100 Battalion of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), along with personnel from the CRPF’s Group Centre in Gandhinagar, have been sent to the crash site to support efforts on the ground.
The Gujarat government has also mobilised three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 90 personnel from Gandhinagar, to assist in rescue operations.
As per Air India, among the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese nationals were onboard the AI171 flight to Gatwick in London.
Among the people on board was former Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani, who has died in the crash, as confirmed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“Deeply pained by the tragic demise of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ji in the unfortunate plane crash in Ahmedabad. He will be remembered as a grassroots leader who devoted his life for the development & welfare of his state. Condolences to his bereaved family. Om Shanti,” Rajnath Singh said in a post on X.
Western Railway has also stated that it would run two Superfast Special trains from Ahmedabad to Delhi and Mumbai to ease the passenger traffic after the crash.
According to a notification, Train No. 09497 will depart from Ahmedabad Junction at 11:45 pm on Thursday and reach Delhi Junction at 2:45 pm the next day. The train (train no. 09498) will then complete a return trip to Ahmedabad from Delhi on Friday.
The other superfast special train with train number 09494 will depart for Mumbai Central from Ahmedabad Junction at 11:55 pm on Thursday. The same train (Train no. 09493) will return to Ahmedabad from Mumbai on Friday, Western Railway notified.
The Tata Group, which owns Air India, had announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash.
“Tata Group will provide Rs 1 crore to the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy. We will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support. Additionally, we will provide support in the building up of the B J Medical’s hostel,” N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said in a post on X.
The Air India plane was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an LTC with 8,200 hours of flying experience. He was assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience, an official said.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Runway 23 at 1339 IST (0809 UTC). It gave a mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. (With inputs from ANI)
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