Daily Briefing: Air India probe in plane crash to be ‘fully transparent'; Israel-Iran fallout; Materialists movie review
Good morning,
Have you ever wondered why women either write, or read a lot of fanfiction? From the Harry Potter series, to Sherlock Holmes, women drastically dominate this genre. As fanfic provides one the freedom to change the story's ending, play with the characters here and there, rewrite rules, all culminating into everyday forms of transgression in the reader's life. Aamatullah Rajkotwala, in our latest Fresh Take column, writes: 'Women read and write fanfiction for a variety of different reasons. Many, like me, found themselves entrenched in a fandom, hungry for more material. Many others have used it as a space for escapism, dissent, power, sexual release or a combination of all these things.'
With that, let's move on to the top 5 stories from today's edition:
🚨 Big Story
Mourning: Dreams of Gujarat's NRIs went down with the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that burst into flames on Thursday. In Kasumbad village of Borsad taluka in Gujarat's Anand district, residents and close friends are clutching onto the memories of those who 'made it' to London and were an 'inspiration' for the youth chasing dreams of settling abroad. The crash has also momentarily shaken the dreams of many youngsters from the region of Charotar — known as the NRI belt of Gujarat, comprising villages from Anand and Kheda districts.
Grief, and a long wait: A day after Air India's London-bound AI 171 crashed soon after taking off from Ahmedabad, staff at the BJ Medical College, where the aircraft fell and broke into pieces, ushered family members and relatives of many of the 241 passengers and crew who were victims of the crash. They arrived from different parts of the country, waiting to provide their DNA samples so that they could identify whatever was left of their loved ones. Authorities have also arranged counselling staff to help the families cope with the grief and the long wait.
Probe: Air India will be fully transparent in the investigation into the crash of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft and will support the probe process as long it lasts, the Tata group airline's chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said on Friday. Releasing a recorded statement, the Air India CEO said that he has assured the government that the carrier is 'committed to full cooperation with those working on the ground and through the investigations'. Wilson, along with N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Air India, were present at the site of the incident within moments of the crash.
⚡ Only in Express
Meena Mistry was rolling out rotis, Aryan Rajput moved to the handwash area, Jeet Bhuriya walked in late for lunch. At the hostel mess of a medical college, nothing was out of the ordinary. Moments later, an Air India plane crashed in through the wall. Hostellers and students of B J Medical College share their ordeal as they head to vacate the premises and recover from the traumatic incident.
💡 Express Explained
In what is its most ambitious military operation in recent years, Israel launched a series of air strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting nuclear sites, missile facilities and other military infrastructure. The attack killed some of the country's key military and civilian personnel as well. What did Israel target? Why? We explain.
✍️ Express Opinion
In our Opinion section today, C Raja Mohan delves into the power relations and options available for Iran amid Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, which would present far-reaching implications on stability within the Middle East region. He writes: 'As Tehran weighs its options, Tel Aviv has made a bold gamble to neutralise Iran's nuclear ambitions, challenge its sclerotic regime, and confront its ageing patriarch, Ali Khamenei. Israel's hopes for a regime change in Iran are longstanding but have been difficult to realise. Could it be different this time?'
🎥 Movie Review
Wondering what to binge-watch this weekend? Well, we've got you covered! Celine Song's latest release, Materialists is all about 'never-too-old romances and did-you-really-think-new lives.' The film, starring Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans, has something important to say, Shalini Langer writes in her review. 'About the transactional nature of modern romance, about the fast-evaporating options for women even in their late 20s, about the fear of ending up alone in a world where you are bombarded with images of happiness, about the realities of the matchmaking market where physical and material assets are boxes to be ticked off, about the racism and classism that shows up in demands of perfectly regular people.'
That's all for today. Have a lovely weekend!
Until next time,
Ariba
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India Gazette
19 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Air India disaster death toll climbs to 270
The UK-bound flight crashed seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing all but one of 242 passengers The death toll from the Air India crash on Thursday has risen to 270, making it one of the deadliest disasters of its kind in the country's history. The plane slammed into a medical college dormitory, leaving one survivor from the flight. Search and rescue workers recovered more bodies from the site late Friday, pushing the death toll higher, officials told media on Saturday. The authorities had earlier put the body count at 265. "Around 270 bodies have been brought to the civil hospital so far from the plane crash site," Dr. Dhaval Gamet at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told reporters on Saturday. He added that the only survivor was still under observation for some of his wounds. In an interview with India's public broadcaster Doodarshan on Saturday, the survivor, 40-year-old UK national of Indian origin Ramesh Vishwashkumar said he "jumped out" of the plans seconds after it crashed when he realized there was some space near his seat. He said he couldn't believe he'd made it out of the burning plane alive, even as he saw people dying around him. Families of the victims are still waiting to receive the bodies of their loved ones. A relative of several passengers who are believed to have died in the crash told RT on Friday that he had given his blood for DNA profiling upon arrival in Ahmedabad, but has not yet received any news about the deceased. "I'm here since yesterday; I gave my blood test. So far there were no bodies of them," he said. Doctors have been working without breaks to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and conduct DNA profiling, Hindustan Times reported. The process of handing over bodies has been slow because of the extent of the damage. "Some of the bodies are charred beyond recognition," one official told the newspaper. The flight, operated by Air India, had just taken off from Ahmedabad when it lost altitude and crashed into a medical college dormitory. Engine failure and poor visibility have been cited as possible factors, though the exact cause is still under investigation. Authorities from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation are examining flight data and cockpit recordings retrieved on Friday. Meanwhile, New Delhi's aviation regulator has asked Air India to carry out maintenance on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft immediately. These include a review of all take-off parameters and aircraft checks over the last two weeks, according to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Hindustan Times
37 minutes ago
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Insta star, Air India crew, bride-to-be: Crash ends vibrant Roshni Songhare's life
Roshni Songhare, a 26-year-old flight attendant aboard the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed near Ahmedabad on Thursday, was just months away from getting engaged and beginning a new chapter with her fiancé, a merchant navy officer. Her family, who had begun preparations for her wedding, is now struggling to cope up from the heartbreak of her death. London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft went down in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday, claiming the 241 of the 242 people on board. One passenger miraculously survived the Ahmedabad plane crash. 'She was the heartbeat of this home. We were getting her engaged in November and married in March,' PTI news agency quoted a close relative of Roshni Songhare as saying. 'Time played cruelly with her,' he said. The Songhare family, residents of Rajaji Path in Maharashtra's Dombivli, is yet to come to terms with the tragedy. Roshni, who was also popular on Instagram, had left for duty three days ago, excited as always about serving on international flights — this time, from Ahmedabad to London. Roshni had over 54,000 followers on Instagram. Her account, once filled with snapshots of travel and triumph, is now a space of collective mourning. 'You flew high, Roshni. You just flew a little too far,' reads one of the many heartfelt messages in the comment sections of her posts. A post shared by Roshni Songhare 🌹 (@sky_loves_her) Her father Rajendra (50), mother Shobha, and younger brother Vignesh are devastated. 'She was so happy to be flying again. We were all looking forward to her wedding. Everything was going right,' said her uncle Praveen Sukhdere, who rushed to Dombivli to support the grieving family. A post shared by Roshni Songhare 🌹 (@sky_loves_her) Originally from Mandangad in Ratnagiri district, the Songhares had moved to Mumbai for work before settling in Dombivli two years ago. A bright, driven young woman, Roshni followed her dream to the skies — completing a flight attendant course, beginning her career with SpiceJet, and later joining Air India. She loved international routes, and her family says she relished every flight she was assigned. Her fiancé, a merchant navy officer from Guhagar taluka in coastal Maharashtra and now living in Thane, had met her through a family acquaintance. 'She was finally getting everything she had worked so hard for,' said a neighbour, fighting back tears. As the crash made headlines, panic set in. The family couldn't reach Roshni. Her father and brother rushed to Ahmedabad, desperately hoping for a miracle.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
1st Responder Was Having Lunch At Hostel Where Air India Plane Crashed
Ahmedabad: 108 Ambulance driver Satinder Singh Sandhu was having lunch when he heard a loud explosion. One look outside one of the hostels of the BJ Medical College campus and he saw the makings of a great tragedy - thick black smoke and chaos. His phone rang and he rushed to the place where the smoke was emanating from to find an aircraft crashed and on fire. Air India's London-bound flight had plummeted from a height of 625 feet and crashed into the hostel campus in Meghaninagar around 1.39 pm. By 1.43 pm, Mr Sandhu reached the spot, alerting the ambulance service manager Jitendra Shahi on the way. "There has probably been a plane crash. Send the fire brigade," he is heard telling Mr Shahi in a call recording accessed by NDTV. The first person Mr Sandhu saw emerging from the crash site was a heavily burnt security guard. He told NDTV that he also saw the lone survivor of the crashed AI171 aircraft walking from the plane and then attempting to go back to save his relative on board. Unfortunately, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh's relative was among the 241 on board that died in Thursday's crash. The ambulance driver then rushed Mr Ramesh to the hospital, where he underwent treatment. By 1.46 pm, five 108 ambulances reached the spot and started rescue work, and in the next 10 minutes, over 20 more ambulances were at the ready. "We first shifted 15-20 people emerging from the hostel to the ambulance," Mr Shahi said. While expressing disbelief that there was survivor in the plane crash, Mr Shahi said the situation on ground was scary. "We are prepared for such situations and we have successfully conducted rescue operations in the past. But this time, there were so many casualties in one place. The recent security drills (held around the time Operation Sindoor was launched) prepared us for dealing with such a high number of casualties," he said. The Ahmedabad-London Air India flight crashed on Thursday afternoon, killing 241 people on board. A part of the plane crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College. The total deaths so far are 274. The black box has been recovered from the plane and will help ascertain the cause of the crashed.
