
"Most heartbreaking and traumatic time": UK Royal Family expresses grief over Air India plane crash
London: The UK Royal family extended condolences to the families of the victims involved in the London-bound Air India flight that crashed in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Condolences poured in from all quarters of UK over the tragic airplane accident which took place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Thursday.
The UK Royal family offered condolences on the tragic accident. In a message, King Charles said, "My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning. Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones. I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time".
Former UK PM Rishi Sunak expressed shock and distress at the accident. Calling it a "tragedy", he offered prayers to the families of the people who lost their lives.
"Akshata and I are deeply shocked and distressed by the news of the Air India tragedy. There is a unique bond between our two nations, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the British and Indian families who have lost loved ones today", Sunak wrote on X.
British High Commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron, expressed grief at the devastating plane crash and gave a consular assistance number for British Nationals who require assistance.
In a post on X, she said, "I'm deeply saddened by the news of a devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad today. My thoughts are with the people and families of everyone affected.
We're working with local authorities and the airline to seek further information. We stand ready to support British nationals who require consular assistance - you can call the FCDO on +44 20 7008 5000 or Air India on 1800 5691 444."
UK Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel offered prayers to the victims of the plane crash. "My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the plane crash at Ahmedabad and with the emergency services at the scene. This will be a worrying time for the families of those on board. As further information comes forward, the Government needs to ensure it is working with Indian authorities to support British families affected."
In another post on X, she shared that the MPs from the House of Commons expressed condolences for the victims of the plane crash.
She wrote, "MPs in @HouseofCommons today expressed our condolences with those affected by the terrible plane crash in Ahmedabad. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Times of Oman
2 hours ago
- Times of Oman
EAM Jaishankar in touch with UK, Portugal, Canada foreign ministers over Ahmedabad plane crash
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that he is in touch with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand regarding the Air India Flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Further, Jaishankar offered profound condolences to the families and offered full support in this hour of grief. "In touch with FS @DavidLammy of the UK, FM @PauloRangel_pt of Portugal and FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada regarding the Ahmedabad plane crash. Expressed our profound condolences and offered fullest support in this hour of grief," Jaishankar wrote on X. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick with 242 passengers crashed in Meghaninagar area at 1:39 pm (IST) shortly after it took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. 241 people were killed in the crash. As per Air India, the passengers comprised 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals. World leaders also poured their condolences over the incident, including UK PM Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba, Portuguese PM Luis Montenegro and the Canadian PM Mark Carney. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting with the officials at the airport in Ahmedabad. He also visited the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad and reviewed the ground situation. After the incident, PM Modi also spoke to Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu and Home Minister Amit Shah and took stock of the crash incident. The Civil Aviation Minister informed the Prime Minister that he is rushing to Ahmedabad to oversee rescue and relief operations on the ground, said the Civil Aviation Ministry. The Prime Minister has directed the Minister to ensure all necessary support is extended immediately and asked to be kept regularly updated on the situation, they said. "On 12th Jun, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB, while operating flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad. There were 242 people on board the aircraft, consisting of 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew," said a senior DGCA official. The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience, the official further added. As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a mayday Call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen emanating from the accident site, said the official


Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
ME airspace shut after Israel strikes Iran, airlines cancel flights
SEOUL/LONDON: Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region. Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability; and more of a safety concern. Detours add to airlines' fuel costs and lengthen journey times. Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was closed and Israel's air defence units stood on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran. Israel's El Al Airlines said it had suspended flights to and from Israel as did Air France KLM and budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz. Wizz said it had re-routed flights affected by closed airspace in the region for the next 72 hours. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia were moving planes out of the country. FlightRadar data showed airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan was empty, with flights directed towards Saudi Arabia and Egypt instead. About 1,800 flights to and from Europe had been affected so far on Friday, including approximately 650 cancelled flights, according to Eurocontrol. With Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, the Middle East region has become an even more important route for international flights between Europe and Asia. The escalation of the Middle East conflict knocked shares in airlines around the world with British Airways owner IAG down 4.6 per cent, Delta Air Lines down 4 per cent and Ryanair off 3.5 per cent. A surge in oil prices after the attack also stirred concerns about jet fuel prices. Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen's Ansar Allah fighters towards Israel on May 4 landed near the airport. Passengers gather in front of the ticket counter of Air India airlines, as the flights got delayed and cancelled after airlines divert flights following Israeli strikes in Iran, in Delhi, India. — Reuters Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots. Air India, which flies over Iran on its Europe and North American flights, said several flights were being diverted or returned to their origin, including ones from New York, Vancouver, Chicago and London. Germany's Lufthansa said its flights to Tehran have been suspended and that it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for the time being. Emirates also cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran while Qatar Airways axed flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria. Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported. Eastern Iraq near its border with Iran contains one of the world's busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe, at any one moment. Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, also closed its airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said it had instructed Russian airlines to stop using the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan until June 26. It said flights to airports in Iran and Israel were also off limits for civil carriers. FlyDubai has cancelled 22 flights scheduled for June 13-14 to Dubai from 10 Russian airports, Russia's RIA news agency said, citing Rosaviatsia. "Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, or north via Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan," according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths — some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally and there have been three near misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. — Reuters


Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
Air India plane mishap: PM Modi visits crash site, assesses ground situation in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad [India]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad and reviewed the ground situation, a day after the AI-171 flight bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad International Airport here. The Prime Minster arrived in the city this morning and proceeded to site where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed. He was briefed by officials on the situation. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and other officials accompanied PM Modi during his visit. PM Modi then proceeded to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to meet with those injured in the mishap. Upon his arrival in the city today, PM Modi was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Ministers Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and CR Paatil. There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane. Miraculously, one person, a British national of Indian origin, survived the crash, airline authorities said. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours. According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC. Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. An official said heavy black smoke was coming from the accident site. Yesterday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and obtained detailed information about the entire incident. Shah said that there was no chance of saving anyone in the London-bound Air India plane crash because of the high temperature caused by the burning of almost 125,000 litres of fuel in the aircraft. Expressing condolences to family members of those killed, Shah said the exact number of deaths will be officially released only after DNA tests. Shah revealed that approximately 1000 DNA tests have been conducted so far. "The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone... "I visited the crash site," the Home Minister told mediapersons. "In just 10 minutes of the incident, we got the information. After that, I informed the Prime Minister, the Gujrat Home Minister, the Control Room of the Home Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Civil Aviation Minister. "The Prime Minister instantly called back, and the personnel from the Union and state governments jumped in jointly for the relief and rescue operations," he said. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India. A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday. "Following the tragic incident in Ahmedabad, a formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)," Naidu posted on X. He informed that the Indian government was also constituting a high-level committee of people with expertise in multiple disciplines to examine the crash incident and devise ways to strengthen aviation safety by preventing such incidents in the future. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a federal agency authorised by Congress to investigate civil aviation accidents in the United States (US), is gearing up to send a team of investigators to India to assist with probing the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash. The Tata group-owned airline has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Those calling from outside India can call +91 8062779200.