Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270
The death toll in the deadly
Air India plane crash
rose to 270 on Saturday, with families increasingly getting upset due to delays in handing over bodies which were badly charred in the tragedy in the western
Indian
city of Ahmedabad.
The
Boeing 787-8
Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for
Britain's Gatwick airport
began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at BJ Medical College, told reporters.
Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on-board survived while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college's hostel as it came down.
READ MORE
The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata's chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but 'we don't know right now'.
Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to the plane's engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported.
Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect bodies of loved ones killed in the crash, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the victims to run identification checks and DNA profiling.
Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities and was 'very hassled'.
'We have lost our children .. we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,' Memon said.
Eyewitness footage has captured the moment an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed immediately after takeoff in Ahmedabad. Video: Reuters
Another father was upset because he was not able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it will take 72 hours for DNA profiling. 'The authorities are trying to help but our patience is running out,' he said.
Most bodies in the crash were badly charred and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks.
[
Air India crash shines spotlight on carrier's safety violations
Opens in new window
]
Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday they had the dental records of 135 victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims' prior dental charts, radiographs or other records. – Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Authorities start handing over remains of Air India crash victims to relatives
Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India's worst aviation disasters after identifying some through DNA tests, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said. The Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after take-off on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Relatives grieve as they attend the funeral of Shubh Modi and his sister Shagun Modi, both victims of the Air India plane crash, at a crematorium in Ahmedabad, India (Rafiq Maqbool/AP) Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives. The victims' families waited outside the hospital mortuary as authorities worked to complete formalities and transfer the bodies in coffins into ambulances. Most of them have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the identification process. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. Investigators come out after visiting the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad, India (Ajit Solanki/AP) The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Saturday. Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, minister of civil aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash. Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, Mr Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency'. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, from a rooftop near the crash site. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Air India crash: US officials survey site, families waiting for bodies
Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies. Along with the NTSB, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India's Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Some 30 people died on the ground. READ MORE Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down. The secretary of the US Department of Transport, Sean Duffy, said on Friday he was in the process of deploying a team from the FAA and the NTSB to India. Boeing and GE, whose engines were used in the plane, were also sending teams. 'We'll take action should any recommendations come forward from the NTSB's investigation,' Mr Duffy said. The FAA has said India will lead the investigation, but the NTSB is the official US representative for providing assistance, while the FAA provides technical support. Boeing officials will also look at various parameters in their inspections, including the angle of landing, as they investigate the matter, said the first source. In all, around 10 officials were present at the site on Sunday, including from the NTSB, said the second source. India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected. In Ahmedabad, doctors were struggling to identify bodies that were charred in the incident, resorting to dental samples and DNA profiling. DNA samples of 32 victims from the crash have been successfully matched, Rajnish Patel, additional superintendent at the city's main hospital, said on Sunday. 'The bodies for which DNA samples have been matched are being handed over to the families with due respect,' he said. The crash brings a fresh challenge for both Air India which has for years being trying to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises. – Reuters
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Seven killed in helicopter crash in northern India
All seven people on a helicopter in northern India were killed early on Sunday when it crashed while ferrying passengers on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, officials said. The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi from the shrine of Kedarnath, said the state's director-general of information, Bansidhar Tripathi. The Uttarakhand government ordered a suspension of helicopter services to Kedarnath Valley until Monday due to bad weather, Mr Tripathi said. There have been three emergency landings and two helicopter crashes on the same route in the past month and a half, he said. 'Very sad news has been received about a helicopter crash in Rudraprayag district,' the state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, posted on X, adding that the State disaster response force, local administration and other rescue teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations. READ MORE Mr Dhami said in a statement he has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the crash. The authorities will also examine helicopter pilots and operators, and 'only those pilots who have long experience of flying helicopters in high Himalayan regions will be allowed,' he said. Helicopter service for the pilgrimage will resume only after a meeting with all helicopter operators, Mr Dhami said. The Bell 407 helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, took off at 5.19am (11.49pm on Saturday Irish time), India's ministry of civil aviation said in a statement. Calls to Aryan Aviation seeking comment went unanswered. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Uttarakhand's Himalayan mountains every year, drawn by the belief that deities such as Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu reside here. Kedarnath is a part of the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage route of four temple towns, which also include Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. India has reduced the frequency of helicopter operations to Char Dham and is enhancing surveillance and reviewing operations for any further action, the aviation ministry said. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
