Teen who shot crash video gives statement to police

Hindustan Times

9 hours ago

Last Thursday, Aryan Asari had just walked up to the terrace of a two-storey building in Ahmedabad's Omkar Nagar when the 17-year-old was fascinated by the roar of aeroplanes flying at low altitudes. Visiting his father from Samalaji hamlet in Aravalli district, the Class 12 student took out his mobile phone and started shooting a video. What he caught was the ill-fated AI-171 that crashed 33 seconds after taking off from the nearby Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport – his short grainy video, capturing the last seconds of the flight, then was beamed around the world and became the basis for both expert reconstructions and amateur investigations.
On Saturday, Asari recorded his statement before the Gujarat Police.
'Within 24 seconds of the recording, the plane crashed. My sister was the first one to see the video. I feel very scared because of what I saw,' the teenager told PTI.
'I felt very scared because of what I witnessed. My sister was the first one to see my video, who then informed my father. I had no idea the flight would crash,' Aryan added.
On seeing the flames and thick black smoke that billowed out of the crash site, Aryan rang his father, a retired army man, who now is employed with Ahmedabad Metro. 'I had never seen a plane before in my life and this was the first time I saw a plane and recorded the video,' he told Gujarati portal VTV News.
His family said Aryan is traumatised. His sister said he was not able to speak properly. 'Aryan has been in a state of shock and keeps himself indoors. He did not sleep the entire last night,' said his friend Raj Singh, 16, who was with Aryan when he was shooting the video.
Raj said Aryan had arrived in Omkar Nagar around 12pm on Thursday. 'I accompanied him to befriend him as he came in the same building as where I live,' added Raj. The structure has residences on the ground and first floors as well as a room on the terrace, where WHO stayed. 'While filming, Aryan first said that the aircraft might be landing ahead, but I said there is no airport ahead,' Raj said.
A Crime Branch official said that Aryan was not detained and his statement was recorded in half-an-hour. 'We had brought him to the police station with his father for recording his statement regarding his video. Both father and son after recording of the statement were allowed to leave,' a senior Crime Branch official said.
He added that the boy was asked why he made the video and how. 'He told us that after recording the video, which also showed the plane going down and a thick smoke from a building, he showed the video to his sister, who informed her father,' the officer said.
The teenager was asked about the exact time of the recording and other people present. 'He is an eye witness to the crash and therefore, his statement was recorded,' the officer said, requesting anonymity.
After recording his statement, the family did not return to Omkar Nagar. Neighbours said that the family went to a relatives' house to escape attention.When HT visited Omkar Nagar, the residence was locked.
(With inputs from Maulik Pathak in Ahmedabad)