Air India Ahmedabad plane crash
Air India confirms 241 people onboard were killed in flight AI171 crash, with British man the sole survivor – latest updates
Air India confirms 241 people onboard were killed in flight AI171 crash, with British man the sole survivor – latest updates
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is only person of 242 onboard to survive crash, with further deaths on the ground
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Sky News
26 minutes ago
- Sky News
Air India plane crash: Families in Ahmedabad endure agonising wait for victims' bodies
Families just want the bodies of their loved ones. They have gathered in the scorching summer heat outside the morgue in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and crane their necks to get a glimpse of the next stretcher carrying a body bag to a waiting ambulance. The process for identifying bodies after the Air India plane crash is painstaking and some have been burnt beyond recognition. All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner died. 0:56 DNA samples are being matched with relatives, but patience is running thin. The wait for Lila Behan is agonising. She wails and cries, longing to see her grandson Akash one last time. She tells Sky News that he was outside when the aircraft crashed into their quarters. There was fire all around, her daughter-in-law Sita ran towards the flames and got severely burned. She's fighting for her life in the hospital's intensive care unit. "I can't even see my child's face now, they said he's so severely burnt. But I just want to see him for one last time," she says. Anand Thanki lost three members of his extended family, including an infant. All were British nationals from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. His sister-in-law Raxa had travelled to India with her daughter-in-law Yasha and infant grandson Rudra for a religious ceremony. Raxa lost her husband to cancer two months ago and this was a ritual she needed to perform. Anand tells Sky News: "It's a big loss, but what can we do? We can only blame our fate, it's probably written for us. "Worst was for my nephew who had dropped them at the airport, returned home and heard the news of the incident." India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the crash site and assessed the situation. He knows the city well, it's personal for him. He has been a legislator for over a decade and previously served as the chief minister of the state of Gujarat. At the crash site, he walked around debris and the block of flats which were in the flight path of the plane. The aircraft began losing altitude and within minutes of take-off, it plummeted to the ground, erupting in a fireball. At the hospital, Mr Modi met Vishwash Kumar Ramesh - the only person to escape the aircraft. He spoke of his miraculous escape. 0:58 The scale of the tragedy has been compounded by its location. The plane came down right in the heart of a built-up neighbourhood, with the front of the aircraft crashing into residential quarters for medical students. The wheels and tail of the plane are embedded in the top floor of one of the buildings, where many had gathered for lunch in a dining hall. Plates are still on tables - evidence that residents were eating when the aircraft tore through. There were at least 23 victims on the ground, including students, doctors and family members. Some are in a critical condition. 2:00 The cause of the crash remains unknown. Investigators will now begin the long and complex process of establishing what went wrong. But many families will grapple with the unimaginable loss after one of the worst disasters in India's aviation history.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Much-loved' Portsmouth nurse among plane crash victims
A "much-loved" nurse who had two children has been named as a victim of the Air India plane Gopakumaran Nair had just resigned from her job in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and was finalising a permanent move back home to India, her family had even arranged a housewarming party at her newly-built home in Kerala, the family Hospitals University NHS Trust said: "Renjitha was a much-loved and valued member of our nursing team and this news has been a shock to all." In a Facebook post, the Union of UK Malayalee Associations announced Ms Renjitha's death in Thursday's Air India crash in of the organisation's leaders, Edy Sebastian, said the nurse came to the UK a year ago to "build a better life" and support her said she had recently resigned from her job at Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital and had travelled to India to submit documents for a nursing post in Edy said: "On 11 June, she travelled via Chennai to Ahmedabad, intending to collect her final release certificate from the UK."Since there were no immediate flights from Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram to Gatwick, she took the first available option to Ahmedabad." Mr Edy added: "Though the construction of the house wasn't fully complete, she decided to move in. She had even set the date to mark the occasion of her housewarming."He said Ms Renjitha had an elderly mother, as well as a daughter aged about 12 and a son who was about Singh, treasurer at Portsmouth City Gurdwara, said her death was "a shock to the whole community".He said: "Renjitha had big plans to go back to India. It's really impacted people in a big way."The Gurdwara and the Malayali association are planning to hold vigils as a mark of respect. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
South Wales Guardian
42 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Tributes pour in for Britons killed in Air India plane crash
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in a fireball on Thursday in what is one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed. A radiologist from Derby who had a 'newly discovered love of fish and chips' was on the flight with his family, the city's Hindu Temple said. Dr Prateek Joshi, who worked at the Royal Derby Hospital, moved to the UK from India in 2021, a colleague who worked closely with him said. Dr Rajeev Singh said: 'He often entertained colleagues with stories about his passions outside of work, including his newly discovered love of fish and chips and enthusiasm for walking in the Peak District. 'It is hard to accept that a man with such a passion for life, and his beautiful young family, have been taken in this way.' Two sisters in their early 20s on their way home to London after surprising their grandmother for her birthday are also said to be among the victims. A cousin who lives in Ahmedabad said fashion designer Dhir and product manager Heer Baxi had an 'amazing aura' and wanted to 'roam the world'. 'They both had aspirations to be successful enough to roam around the world along with the parents,' Ishan Baxi said. Both women knew 'what is right and what is wrong', he added. 'Right now no one is able to come to terms because they both came here just to celebrate grandma's birthday but, see, the tragedy – they came, they celebrated and they both left the world, everything is vanished right in front of our eyes.' A family of three from Gloucester were also on the flight, their family said in statement issued through their imam. Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter, Sara Nanabawa, were 'widely loved and deeply respected'. Ms Vorajee volunteered at a local Islamic school and was also a director for an organisation promoting understanding of the religion, Imam Abdullah Samad said. Mr Nanabawa ran a recruitment firm called Iceberg Recruitment Services which had a branch in Ahmedabad, India, according to the company's website. Imam Abdullah Samad said: 'This young family was incredibly close-knit – devoted parents and their beautiful, young daughter. 'They gave their time and energy to awareness campaigns and fundraising efforts, always guided by a strong sense of responsibility to help others. 'They were widely loved and deeply respected. His quiet generosity, her warmth and kindness, and their daughter's bright, joyful spirit made a lasting impact on everyone who knew them.' Air India confirmed 241 of the 242 people on board the plane were killed when it crashed and struck a medical college in Ahmedabad. The British survivor spoke of the horror of watching people 'dying in front of my eyes'. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh told DD News 'I still can't believe how I survived' as he spoke from his hospital bed on Friday. The 40-year-old told the broadcaster the plane felt like it was 'stuck in the air' shortly after take-off before lights began flickering green and white – adding: 'It suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.' The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been in contact with Mr Ramesh to offer consular support, Downing Street said. The crash site was visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, with video footage showing him talking to Mr Ramesh in hospital. There are fears the number of people killed on the ground could rise. At least five medical students were killed and about 50 injured. Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash. Aviation experts have speculated about the possible causes of the crash, from both engines failing – possibly due to a bird strike, as happened in the so-called Miracle on the Hudson in 2009 – to the flaps on the aircraft's wings not being set to the correct position for take-off. Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10 million rupees (around £86,000) to the families of each of those killed in the crash. The company said it would also cover the medical costs of the injured and provide support in the 'building up' of the medical college. Air India has set up friends and relatives assistance centres at Gatwick, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad airports to provide support in the wake of AI171's crash.
