Ahmedabad: Broken tables, half-eaten meals and shattered walls inside the doctors’ hostel at Meghaninagar area in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad lay bare the scale of devastation after an Air India flight carrying 242 people crashed into the building shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12.
The visuals from the hostel’s mess revealed the impact of the crash — plates still holding food, overturned furniture, and broken fixtures told the story of a tragedy that struck without warning.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
According to senior police officials, the aircraft crashed into the doctor’s hostel building located just outside the airport perimeter. “After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the … plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors’ hostel,” Jaipal Singh Rathore, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, told reporters.
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.
The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each person who lost their life in the 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.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told ANI that one survivor has been found. “The police found one survivor… He has been hospitalised and is under treatment. It is too early to confirm the death toll, but it may rise as the plane crashed into a residential area,” he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh mourned the death of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was onboard the London-bound Air India flight that crashed in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Thursday.
In a post on X, he wrote “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.”
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu assured that a fair and thorough investigation would be carried out to uncover the cause behind the tragic incident.
“We are going to do a fair & thorough investigation, and probe why this incident happened. We still have to find out the numbers. We will go to the depths of why this incident happened,” Naidu told the media.
The Gujarat government has mobilised three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 90 personnel from Gandhinagar, to aid in ongoing rescue operations. (With inputs from ANI)
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