Sole survivor of Air India crash describes failed takeoff and disbelief at being alive
NEW DELHI (AP) — The lone passenger who survived an Air India crash couldn't believe he was alive when he opened his eyes and was surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, was on the flight headed to London that crashed minutes after taking off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The accident killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said.
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CBC
26 minutes ago
- CBC
Remains of Air India crash victims handed over to relatives
Social Sharing Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India's worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, officials said Sunday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. The remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives, he said. 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 a 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. Among the passengers, there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Qasim Rashid Ahmed, a British national of Indian origin whose charity provided food and accommodation to the victims' relatives, said most of the British victims had relatives in Gujarat state and had given their DNA samples. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, India's Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement Saturday. Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash. Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, 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. Raw video shows Air India flight crashing moments after takeoff 3 days ago Duration 0:17 An Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed 5 minutes after takeoff Thursday in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad, according to the airline. They say 53 British citizens, seven from Portugal and one Canadian citizen were among the 242 passengers and crew on board the flight. WARNING: This video contains graphic footage. 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 U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The plane that crashed was 12 years old. 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.
Toronto Sun
43 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Galapagos tortoise celebrates his 135th birthday and his first Father's Day at Zoo Miami
Published Jun 15, 2025 • 1 minute read In this image provided by Zoo Miami, Goliath, a 517-pound (234-kilogram) Galapagos tortoise at Zoo Miami, meets his first offspring on June 12, 2025 in Miami. Photo by Zoo Miami / AP MIAMI — A South Florida zoo's oldest resident celebrated his 135th birthday and his first Father's Day on Sunday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Goliath, a 517-pound (234-kilogram) Galapagos tortoise at Zoo Miami, became a father for the first time earlier this month, zoo officials said. 'Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others!' Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said in a statement. 'He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!' One egg out of a clutch of eight laid on Jan. 27 successfully hatched on June 4, officials said. Besides being Goliath's first offspring, it's also the first time one of the endangered reptiles has hatched at Zoo Miami. The animals' numbers were drastically reduced before the 20th century by human exploitation and the introduction of invasive species to the Galapagos Islands. Modern threats include climate change and habitat loss. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. According to Goliath's official record, he hatched on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15, between 1885 and 1890. The island group is located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles west of mainland Ecuador. Goliath arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981. He has bred with several different females during his time at Zoo Miami, but he has never sired an offspring. The new hatchling's mother, Sweet Pea, is estimated to be between 85 and 100 years old. Both parents are doing well in their public habitat, officials said. The hatchling appears to be healthy in a separate enclosure. Wild hatchlings are not raised by their parents. Sports Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons Toronto & GTA Relationships
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7
Published Jun 15, 2025 • 2 minute read This photo shared by Uttarakhand Police on the X platform shows rescuers working at the site of a helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in Uttarakhand, India, Sunday, June 15, 2025. AP LUCKNOW, India — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash. The helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m. local time. Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions. Officials said the dead included the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. India's Civil Aviation Ministry suspended the operations of Aryan Aviation and directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to oversee all helicopter activity in the region, according to Press Trust of India. The ministry also ordered an investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the news agency said. The crash comes three days after an Air India passenger plane crashed with the loss of at least 270 people in Gujarat state. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Kedarnath is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of thousands of pilgrims each year during the summer season, many of whom use helicopter services due to the difficult mountainous terrain. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Helicopter mishaps are not uncommon in the treacherous Kedarnath region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks. According to Press Trust, Sunday's was the fifth helicopter accident since the pilgrimage began in the region on April 30. On June 7, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing on a highway due to technical fault shortly after taking off. The pilot was injured but all five passengers on board were unharmed. On May 8, a helicopter crashed in Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived. Read More Sports Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons Golf Relationships
