Fatal civilian plane crashes in India since 2000
The crash occurred when the aircraft was taking off, TV channels reported. PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA/X
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A London-bound Air India flight crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12 .
Here are some other airline accidents in India in recent decades:
August 2020
At least 18 people died and 16 were severely injured when an Air India Express Boeing 737 plane skidded off the runway in the southern city of Kozhikode during heavy rain, plunged into a valley and crashed nose-first into the ground.
May 2010
An Air India Boeing 737 flight from Dubai overshot the runway at the airport in the southern city of Mangaluru and crashed into a ravine, killing 158 people on board.
July 2000
More than 50 people were killed when a state-owned Alliance Air flight between Kolkata and the capital, New Delhi, crashed in a residential area of the eastern city of Patna. REUTERS
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Air India crash: Grief turns into anger as families continue agonising wait for bodies
Officials inspect the remains of the Air India passenger plane at the crash site near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 14. PHOTO: EPA-EFE - Anger has been mounting among family members of passengers on board the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad as they face an agonising wait for the bodies of their loved ones. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board were killed in the June 12 crash, with an additional unconfirmed number of fatalities feared on the ground. Flight AI171, operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had rammed into a hostel mess at the western Indian city's Byramjee Jeejeebhoy (BJ) Medical College and Civil Hospital, erupting into a large ball of fire. Dr Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors' Association at the BJ Medical College, told reporters on June 14 that 270 bodies had been recovered from the crash site, with more bodies potentially still stuck under rubble. Thirty-two injured persons from the site have also been admitted to Civil Hospital. Only eight bodies – those that were identified visually – have been handed over to family members, with the rest to be released after DNA matches, which doctors said could take up to 72 hours. But the patience of family members is wearing thin, with grief beginning to give way to rage as some question the agonising wait marked by a lack of official and regular communication from the authorities to the victims' families and media. Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on the flight with his wife and two children, said his relatives had already turned in their DNA samples but he had yet to receive any clear information on the state of the bodies of his loved ones. Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on board the flight with his wife and two children, said he is worried about the condition of their bodies currently in storage at the mortuary in Civil Hospital. ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA 'In two days, all I have been hearing is 72 hours, 72 hours. When will these 72 hours end, nobody knows. They will then bring up some other excuse after 72 hours,' an angry and distressed Mr Memon told reporters outside the BJ Medical College. 'Stop this DNA game… We want to see them (the bodies) in whatever condition they are in, we can stomach it. They were our children.' Fearing that the bodies may have already started decomposing, he demanded that the local authorities release a video to prove that the bodies are safe. 'Four days later if you give us something that stinks, will our heart be able to bear it?... Tell us that the bodies of our loved ones are safe, that they are not decomposing.' Dr Rakesh S. Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital, where the bodies have been stored in a mortuary, told The Straits Times that matching the DNA samples from victims' bodies with those from their family members is taking longer than usual because many of the bodies were badly burnt and mutilated. In such cases, intact DNA has to be extracted from hard remains such as bones or teeth. 'It (also) takes time for all relatives to come from a different place other than the local city,' he said, noting that his team had the DNA collection process set up in three to four hours after the crash and are working '24/7' to conclude it. Dr Joshi added that positive matches have already begun coming in. The first reportedly DNA-matched body was later released by the hospital late on the afternoon of June 14, with media access to the mortuary cut off. A sitting area for relatives of passengers killed in the Air India AI171 crash at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Family members of victims have complained about the lack of support and information for them. ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA Also present at the Civil Hospital on June 14 was Mr Anil Kumar Patel, 58, who works as a security supervisor in Ahmedabad. His 30-year-old son, who worked for Amazon in London, was here with his wife for her medical treatment and both were killed in the crash. Mr Patel said he had so far not received any help from Air India or the Ahmedabad district administration following the tragedy. 'No one has called, nothing,' he said. Family members of victims have criticised the way they have been dealt with by the authorities since the tragedy, as they are often left to fend for themselves, with little or no information going their way. Mr Anil Kumar Patel, 58, waiting outside the post-mortem room at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. His son and daughter-in-law, both 30, were killed in the crash. ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA Mr Patel was seated next to the post-mortem room, where a small open area with a makeshift marquee and a broken bench had been designated for relatives of victims of the crash. He has spent most of the past two days waiting at the Civil Hospital for some news, despite the humid oppressive heat in Ahmedabad. Asked why he continues to be here, he said, breaking down: 'Just so that I can get both their dead bodies. What else can I expect?' Some help may be finally on its way. The Ahmedabad district administration released a list of 39 victims who were residents of areas under its jurisdiction on the night of June 13 . Each family has been assigned an official who has been asked to help family members, from the process of DNA collection to funeral rites. On that list, the fourth and 38th names were that of Mr Patel's daughter-in-law Pooja Harshit Patel and his son Harshit Patel. 'I just hope we get their bodies soon,' he said. Debarshi Dasgupta is The Straits Times' India correspondent covering the country and other parts of South Asia. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Death toll in Air India crash rises to at least 279
AHMEDABAD: The death toll from the fiery crash of a London-bound passenger jet in an Indian city climbed to 279 on Saturday (Jun 14) as officials sought to match the DNA of victims with their grieving relatives. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings. A police source said on Saturday that 279 bodies had been found at the crash site in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, making it one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century. "Nobody can fill the void left by loss," said Imtiyaz Ali, whose younger brother boarded the plane. "I can't even begin to explain what's going on inside me," he told AFP. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff. Emergency services kept up their recovery efforts on Saturday, extracting a badly burnt body from the tailpiece before cranes were used to remove the wreckage. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. "I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time," said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit before boarding the Air India flight. "And now, there is nothing," he said, breaking down in tears. "Whatever the gods wanted has happened." SEARCH FOR BLACK BOX The first body of a passenger to be handed over to relatives was placed in a white coffin on Saturday before being transported in an ambulance with a police escort, footage from the state government showed. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Those killed ranged from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said even he could not explain how he survived. "Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Friday that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would "significantly aid" investigations. Forensic teams are still looking for the second black box, as they probe why the plane crashed after lifting barely 100m from the ground. United States planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood "ready to support them" over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Indian air crash victims remembered at King Charles' birthday parade
Britain's King Charles attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London, Britain, on June 14. PHOTO: REUTERS LONDON - A minute's silence for victims of the Air India plane disaster was held on June 14 at a London birthday parade for King Charles III, in which some members of the royal family also wore black arm bands. The king, 76, requested amendments to the parade, known as Trooping the Colour, 'as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy', a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. A total 279 people, including passengers, crew and people on the ground, died on June 12 when a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London's Gatwick Airport crashed on take-off from Ahmedabad in eastern India. The victims included 52 Britons. A sole survivor has been named as British man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from the central English city of Leicester. In a written message after the disaster, King Charles said he was 'desperately shocked by the terrible events' and expressed his 'deepest possible sympathy'. Trooping the Colour, a minutely choreographed military tradition dating back more than two centuries, marks the British sovereign's official birthday. It starts at Buckingham Palace and moves down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, where Charles receives a royal salute before inspecting soldiers. Hundreds of people gathered outside the palace and along The Mall to watch the spectacle. They included a small group of anti-monarchist protesters with yellow placards reading 'not my king' and 'down with the crown'. Charles, who is still undergoing weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer, was accompanied by Queen Camilla for the parade. Also present were heir to the throne Prince William, 42, his wife Catherine, also known as Kate, and their three children: George, 11, Charlotte, 10 and Louis, seven. No Harry Catherine, 43, whose formal title is Princess of Wales, has also faced her own cancer battle. She announced that she had also been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer in March 2024 just weeks after Charles revealed his own cancer. The princess said in January 2025 that she was 'in remission' and she has since made a partial return to public life. Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla ride in a carriage, as part of the Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London. PHOTO: REUTERS Not present at the June 14 parade, were Charles' estranged younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who both stepped down from royal family duties in 2020, and moved to the United States. Harry's fraught ties with his family have worsened since he and Meghan made various public allegations against the royals. Harry and his brother William are said to barely be on speaking terms, according to UK media. Although Trooping of the Colour takes place in June, the king was actually born in November. The second birthday tradition dates back to 1748, when King George II wanted to have a celebration in better weather than at his own birthday, which was in October. The parade comes on the same day that US President Donald Trump presides over a huge military parade in Washington on his 79th birthday. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
