Ahmedabad flight co-pilot was Vikrant Massey's family friend. ‘My heart breaks for the families'
'My heart breaks for the families and loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today,' he wrote in an Instagram story. 'It pains even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the first officer operating on that fateful flight. May God give strength to you and your family, uncle, and to all deeply affected.'
The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was bound for London's Gatwick airport. But it crashed immediately after takeoff. Air India has confirmed that 241 of the 242 people onboard have died.
New Delhi: The Ahmedabad tragedy struck close to home for actor Vikrant Massey, who lost his family friend Clive Kunder—the co-pilot of Air India flight AI 171 that crashed near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport on 12 June.
In a second story, the actor clarified that the Kunders are family friends and not relatives.
First Officer Clive Kunder, whose roots are in Mangaluru, was a Mumbai resident. He had logged over 1,100 hours of flying experience. The cockpit crew also included Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 flying hours.
Among the deceased were also former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who served as the chief minister of the state for two terms from 7 August 2016 to 11 September 2021.
'This is a very sad incident. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. We have lost two-time former chief minister Vijay Rupani in the crash, which is very sad news for the BJP family,' Union minister C R Paatil told reporters.
Rupani was currently serving as the BJP's in-charge for Punjab.
The last major passenger plane crash in Indiạ̣ occurred in August 2020, when an Air India Express flight overshot the runway in Kozhikode, resulting in 21 fatalities. The airline's Boeing 737 overshot a tabletop runway at Kozhikode International Airport, skidding and plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground and claiming 19 lives.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022. It was merged with Vistara, a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines, in 2024. The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for each of the victims. They have also pledged to cover the medical expenses of all the injured and rebuild the BJ Medical College hostel, which the plane crashed into.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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