*Lone survivor in Ahmedabad tragedy involving London-bound AI flight *Ex-Guj CM Rupani among dead
Ahmedabad: A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex here and burst into a ball of fire on Thursday moments after take-off, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country’s worst air disasters.
Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was among the dead, according to BJP leader C R Patil. There were also reports of one passenger identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh and seated on 11A of the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) having survived miraculously.
There was no official count of those killed even hours after the twin-engine wide bodied aircraft crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport perimeter.
Rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured.
Many of the injured had suffered grievous burns. Officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died. According to an earlier report, five medical students died and many suffered injuries.
The pilot issued a ‘Mayday’ distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after take-off at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.
The search was also on for the aircraft’s black box – the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London’s Gatwick airport.
The 11-year-old aircraft could be seen from miles away, losing altitude rapidly and combusting in a fiery blaze that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.
Noting that the aircraft with a full fuel load for a long trip climbed just about 600-800 feet before plummeting to the ground almost immediately, Aviation experts said going by the available visuals, lack of thrust in both engines and a bird hit could be among the probable causes. Television footage showed the aircraft making a slow descent shortly after taking off, with its landing gear still extended.
“The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Visuals from the wreckage area showed bodies being pulled out and the injured, many with burns, wheeled into the city civil hospital close by.
Eyewitnesses in Ahmedabad said the blaze was so intense that it led to several multi-storey buildings getting burnt, trees singed and cars damaged. One image showed the snout of the plane crashing through the top floor of a building that appeared to be a dining area of the hostel of nurses and doctors.
Elsewhere too, there were scenes of complete devastation with mangled metal of the wreckage, snarls of tangled wire and smoke rising from burning embers.
This is the first crash involving the Boeing Dreamliner, feted for its advanced features. It is also India’s second biggest air disaster since 2020 when an Air India Express flight skidded off a wet runway while landing at Kozhikode in Kerala and split into two. Of the 190 people on board, 21, including two pilots, lost their lives.
Airport operations in Ahmedabad were temporarily suspended and resumed towards the evening. The shock of the disaster echoed through political corridors in India and abroad with heads of states and others offering their condolences.
The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal has 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the DGCA said in a statement.
Immediately after departure from Runway 23, the aircraft fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter, it said. “On Jun 12, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB while operating flight AI-171 from (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) has crashed immediately after take-off from Ahmedabad,” the statement said.
Several eyewitnesses on the busy afternoon described the horror of what they had seen. “The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of civil hospital and BJ Medical college,” Haresh Shah said.
“There are several five-floor buildings which are residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff. Many people in those apartments were injured as along with the plane the buildings also caught fire,” he said. Another said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.
DNA tests will be carried out to ascertain the identities of those in the crash, a senior Gujarat health department official said even as he refused to give the death toll. There were reports that over 200 bodies were recovered from the wreckage. The bodies were reported to be charred beyond recognition.
Woman misses AI-171 by 10 mins
Ahmedabad: Bhoomi Chauhan, a London resident visiting India, narrowly escaped tragedy after missing Air India flight AI-171, that crashed shortly after take-off, by just 10 minutes.
Speaking to media persons, Chauhan said she was stuck in traffic and reached the airport just moments after boarding had closed. “I am completely devastated after hearing about the loss of lives. My body is literally shivering. My mind is totally blank now after hearing all that has happened,” she said.
Chauhan had arrived at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 1.30 pm, only to learn that the flight to London Gatwick had already departed.
“I just missed the flight by ten minutes. I don’t know how to explain what I feel. I was supposed to be on that plane,” she said, adding emotionally, “My Ganpati Bappa saved me.”
Chauhan had returned to India for a vacation after two years and was flying back alone.
Ramesh lives to tell the tale
Ahmedabad: Amid the wreckage of the Air India crash, one man emerged from the inferno. Ramesh Vishwaskumar, a British citizen seated on 11A, miraculously survived a tragedy that 241 other people on board could not.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise,” he told reporters. “There were dead bodies around me. I got scared. I got up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere,” he said.
Ramesh’s chest, eyes and feet bore impact injuries, but he lived to tell the tale.
In the viral video now making rounds on social media, Ramesh can be seen limping away from the wreckage, clothes torn, blood streaking down his face.
Originally from India, Ramesh has lived in London for the past 20 years with his wife and child. His return trip was supposed to be a brief family reunion; instead, it turned into a brush with death.
Ramesh was travelling to London with his brother. Dr Shriq M, who works in the trauma ward of the Ahmedabad civil hospital, said Ramesh has been admitted to the hospital.
Goa declares one-day mourning
Panaji: In view of the tragic Air India plane crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on Thursday, resulting in loss of lives, the Goa government has declared a one day state mourning on June 13.
A notification issued by the general administration department states that as an expression of sorrow and solidarity with the bereaved families, all government-supported festive programmes, public celebrations and official entertainment will remain cancelled or postponed. The government has directed all the departments, corporations and autonomous bodies to adhere to the instructions.
