Teen behind Air India crash viral video thought plane ‘was going to land'
A 17-year-old Aryan Asari, the boy who recorded a viral video of the Air India plane crash in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday, said that he thought the aircraft was "going to land", but instead it crashed and went up in flames.
Police treated the teen as an eyewitness to the tragedy and recorded his statement on Saturday. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch said he came with his father to give the statement.
Air India's AI171 Boeing 787-7 Dreamliner crashed into the hostel complex of BJ Medical College in Meghani Nagar within minutes of its takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 241 aboard the aircraft, leaving just one survivor. Additionally, more than 20 persons present on the ground at the time of the incident also lost their lives. A total of 270 persons were killed in the plane crash.
Aryan Asari's video gave the initial perspective of the incident. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said that as the plane was passing from a very close range, he thought of shooting a video to show to his friends.
He had gone up to the terrace to witness the low-flying aircraft.
"The plane went downwards, and I thought it was going to land as the airport was nearby. But when it went down, flames started coming up, and we saw that it had exploded," Asari said.
The teen recalled how "scared" he felt in that moment, and said he showed the video to his sister, and told his father about the same.
Earlier, his sister told news agency PTI how Asari expressed his wish not to live in the area anymore as "it is dangerous".
Asari on Sunday returned to his native village in Aravalli district to resume his class 12 studies.
The teenager arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, the same day as the plane crash, to purchase textbooks.
"I cleared the class 11 exam last month and secured admission in class 12. I came to Ahmedabad on June 12 to purchase textbooks. I reached my father's rented house at around 12:30 pm," Asari said.
Aryan Asari's father, a retired Army personnel, had recently taken up a job as a security guard with the Ahmedabad Metro and was living at a rented accommodation in the Meghani Nagar area.
The owner of the rented home, Kailashba, also commented on Asari's experience and said, "He had come to Ahmedabad for the first time and within hours of his arrival, he ended up witnessing such a horrific event. The video he captured was initially sent to his father and later went viral".
Meanwhile, an official on Sunday said that the identities of 47 victims have been matched through DNA testing, and bodies of 24 have been handed over to their respective families.
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