Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270
Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad.The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers, a 40-year-old British man.Officials have been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities. Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
18 minutes ago
- Sky News
Bridge collapse kills at least two people in India - with several others swept away in river
At least two people have died and more than 30 are injured after a bridge collapsed in India, officials have said. Maharashtra's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis added that a number of people were swept away after the bridge - over the Indrayani river in the western Indian city of Pune - collapsed on Sunday. He added on social media that "some people got swept away, so a search operation is underway on a war footing to find them". The minister said six people have been rescued while 32 were injured, with six in a critical condition, and that the National Disaster Response Force had been deployed, with other agencies directed to remain on high alert. It comes four days after an Air India flight crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in northwestern India, killing at least 270 people. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was carrying 53 Britons, crashed into a doctors' hostel in a residential area moments after taking off. And earlier on Sunday, a helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed in a forested area several miles from the Kedarnath pilgrimage route, killing seven people on board. That accident happened within minutes of the helicopter taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight.
BreakingNews.ie
36 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Mum killed in Air India crash was ‘reluctant to go' and feared leaving her son
A mother who died in the Air India plane crash had been reluctant to travel and feared leaving her young son behind for the first time, a colleague has said. Abdhiben Patel, known as Abdhi, 40, was killed when flight AI171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday. Advertisement She had flown to India just two weeks earlier to care for her elderly mother, but was hesitant to make the trip and leave her eight-year-old son behind. 'She didn't want to go,' said Atif Karim, 45, her colleague and close friend at Zone Beauty Studio in Northampton. 'She told me, 'I just don't like being away from him'. It was her first time leaving him, and she was very nervous.' 'She wasn't excited,' he added. Advertisement 'It was a sense of duty. Her mum was unwell, but you could tell it was weighing on her.' Mr Karim, a father of two, said recent tensions between India and Pakistan, which led to flight cancellations and uncertainty, had added to Mrs Patel's worries. 'All the flights were getting cancelled,' he said. 'It didn't feel like the right time.' Because her husband Pankaj worked night shifts, Mrs Patel was inseparable from their son Meer, he said. Advertisement 'She kept saying how shy and reserved he is, how attached they were,' he added. 'She was totally devoted to him – her entire world revolved around him.' Mrs Patel had planned to return to work on Saturday. The day before the crash, she had messaged Mr Karim to check in about a task and offer to help finish it remotely. Advertisement 'She said, 'Do you want me to finish that?' and later, 'Don't worry, I'll sort it,'' he said. 'That was the last I heard.' Originally from Gujarat, she moved to the UK in 2012 and joined the salon in 2016. She worked her way up over the years and had been managing the business for the last three. 'She was the most diligent, reliable worker I've ever had,' Mr Karim said. 'But more than that, she was our friend.' Advertisement 'She was bubbly, kind, always smiling – she had a way of putting people at ease and always took a genuine interest in their lives.' 'She got on with everyone and left a real mark on the people she worked with and the customers she served. 'Yesterday, we had people coming in and crying their eyes out.' Inside the salon, he said the mood has changed, Mr Karim said. 'There's no music playing anymore,' he said. 'The staff are devastated. My colleague burst into tears when she walked in. 'Everyone's just heartbroken.' Mrs Patel's husband and son are now in India, where efforts are still ongoing to identify victims and return remains to grieving families. Authorities have since begun handing over remains after identifying some through DNA testing. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. Only one passenger – a 40-year-old British man – survived. A fundraiser has since been launched to support Mrs Patel's grieving husband and son, raising more than £4,000 in its first few days. The campaign is hoping to reach £50,000. To donate, visit the Go Fund Me campaign page .
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Mother of two is first British Air India crash victim released to family
The first body of a British Air India crash victim has been released to her family. A funeral was held on Sunday for 'sweet' and 'gentle' mother of two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 42, just three days after she told her parents not to worry as she boarded the flight to Gatwick Airport. Mrs Makwana, who was visiting India for dental work, is the first of 53 British nationals to die in the crash whose remains were returned by authorities. Family described Mrs Makwana, who lived in Hounslow, London, as 'a gentle soul' and incredibly hard-working. Her body was formally identified through DNA testing and taken to Pensionpora Cemetery Vadodara in Gujarat on Sunday morning for funeral rites. Her husband Alpesh, 52, and her two children, aged seven and 11, flew out to India and arrived on Saturday ahead of a Roman Catholic Service today. Her uncle Joseph Patelia told The Telegraph she had called her father Edwin Patelia to say she'd boarded safely but her sister later learnt the plane had crashed on the news. 'Before take-off, she called her father to say she'd boarded safely and would call again once she landed in London,' he said. 'That call never came. She vanished just like that leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we were hearing. 'About 15 minutes after that call, her younger sister Anne saw the news of a plane crash. She ran to her father and said, 'Please check if Elcina was on that flight.' That's when our nightmare began.' He revealed that Mrs Makwana, who previously ran a telecoms business with her husband, had come to India for dental treatment and to spend time with her parents. 'Elcina had come to India for dental treatment, it's quite expensive in the UK, and obviously to spend time with her parents,' he added. 'She'd been having frequent toothaches. She travelled alone, and her husband Alpesh and their two young children, an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, arrived here just yesterday.' 'A truly gentle soul' Paying tribute to his niece, Mr Patelia said she was a 'gentle soul' and supported poor children in India by paying for education. 'Elcina was incredibly sweet, kind and generous, a truly gentle soul,' he said. 'She had adopted two children back home and was paying for their education. She gave quietly, never seeking attention. 'She had struggled a lot in life, moving to London over 15 years ago, taking on part-time jobs to support her family there and her parents here in India. She had no brothers, so she took on every responsibility herself. 'Her loss is devastating. She was the bond that held our entire family together.' Investigators are continuing to search the crash site in the Meghaninagar district of Ahmedabad 1.5km metres from the end of the runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed for London Gatwick crashed into a hostel where medical students and their families were living just 30 seconds after take-off. India has ordered urgent safety tests of Boeing 787s and the flight data recorder, known as the black box, had been recovered and was being looked into by investigators. Only one of the 241 people onboard survived the crash. The sole surviving passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from Leicester, was sitting in seat 11A.
