241 Dead in Ahmedabad Plane Crash; One Survivor Critical

Prime Highlights:

Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on a flight to London, and 241 of the 242 people on board died.
There was one survivor who was critical and hospitalized after the crash.

Key Facts:

Foreign and Indian nationals were the passengers in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that had a retired Chief Minister of Gujarat among them.
The aircraft went down just minutes after departure, after falling near a college hostel in Meghani-nagar.
Rescue efforts were made difficult by an enormous fire resulting from over 1 lakh litres of fuel from the plane.

Key Background :

Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on 12th June in Ahmedabad in a gruesome air tragedy, killing 241 people. The plane had departed from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and was going to London Gatwick. The plane vanished from the Air Traffic Control after taking off and crashed near a hostel of a college in the Meghani-nagar locality. The plane was in the air for no more than a minute when it plunged to the ground.

Witnesses described a fiery explosion after the aircraft, carrying over 125,000 litres of aviation fuel, crashed and burst into flames upon impact. The inferno spread quickly, engulfing nearby hostel buildings and making rescue efforts impossible. A number of corpses were found buckled into their seats, highlighting the shock and intensity of the crash.

Among the killed were 168 Indians, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese, and a Canadian citizen. Ex-Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also among the casualties who perished. A single individual, Ramesh Vishwaskumar, survived and was rushed to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital with critical injuries.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescue teams, fire brigade, Army, and forensic specialists arrived at the scene quickly. But the intensity of the fire rendered rescue operations extremely tough. Over 265 dead bodies, most of whom were burnt beyond recognition, were taken to hospitals. DNA testing is being undertaken for identifying the dead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah traveled to Ahmedabad to oversee relief operations. Shah claimed that the intensity of the fire made it impossible to save anybody who could have been on the plane. Special flights by Air India were arranged to carry grieving relatives to the city.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has opened an official probe. Boeing also has given full cooperation. Specialists are now recovering the black box of the plane to establish the reason for the accident. The accident is piling up a grim list of aviation accidents in Gujarat this year involving some crashes of military as well as civilian planes.