Air India plane crash latest: Pilot's last words revealed as families wait anxiously for bodies of victims
Indian aviation officials have confirmed that the final words of the pilot of the doomed Air India Flight 171, moments before the plane crashed into buildings near Ahmedabad 's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, were Mayday distress calls.
'Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' the pilot said before the catastrophic crash that killed at least 270 people on Thursday.
The Boeing Dreamliner, with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport, began losing height seconds after take-off and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
India has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected. The company said it will provide an interim payment of Rs2.5m (£21,000) each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs, in addition to Rs10m (£85,000) in support announced previously by the Tata Group.
Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies of victims.
He flew home to bury his father. The Air India crash took his life
nside a modest two-bedroom apartment in India's Ahmedabad, Ravina Daniyal Christian clutches the edge of her tear-soaked scarf. The home is crowded with relatives but the only voice that carries through the room is hers – spilling with loss.
Just fifteen days ago, she buried her husband. On 12 June, her 30-year-old son Lawrence Daniyal Christian, who had come home from London to perform the last rites of his father, was killed in the catastrophic Air India crash that has claimed at least 270 lives.
That final act of love has become a mother's worst nightmare.
Namita Singh reports from Ahmedabad.
He flew home to bury his father. The Air India crash took his life
As families wait for DNA tests to confirm the identities of their loved ones who perished in the Air India crash, harrowing stories emerge from the decade's worst aviation disaster, Namita Singh reports from Ahmedabad
Stuti Mishra15 June 2025 08:15
On the ground at Ahmedabad hospital as Air India crash death toll updated
Stuti Mishra
Pilot's last words were 'Mayday'
Indian aviation officials have confirmed that the final words of the pilot of the doomed Air India Flight 171, moments before the plane crashed into buildings near Ahmedabad 's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, were Mayday distress calls.
'Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' the pilot said before the catastrophic crash that killed at least 270 people on Thursday.
The call was received at air traffic control (ATC) seconds before all communications stopped.
Stuti Mishra15 June 2025 07:13
Newlywed heading to London among Air India crash victims as family awaits her body
Khushboo Rajpurohit, 21, was among the victims of the Air India Express crash. On Sunday, her family gathered outside the mortuary complex at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to collect her mortal remains.
'We have been told that the body will be handed over shortly. She last spoke to her father before he dropped her off,' a relative told The Independent.
Her uncle, Kishore Rajpurohit, 56, said Khushboo had only recently married and was preparing to start a new life in London.
'She got married on 17 January this year and was awaiting visa clearance to be able to travel to London and live with her husband,' he said.
Her father had gone to the airport to see her off.
'He waited till she boarded and had not even crossed Mehsana when we learnt of the crash,' Mr Rajpurohit added.
The family was informed on Sunday morning by a government-appointed nodal officer that a DNA match had confirmed Khushboo's identity.
15 June 2025 06:45
Ambulance drivers on standby as Gujarat officials begin transporting crash victims' bodies
Ambulance drivers from across Gujarat have been stationed outside Ahmedabad Civil Hospital as authorities begin handing over the bodies of victims from the Air India crash.
Mahindra Singh, a 45-year-old ambulance driver from Kheda, said he had been waiting since morning.
'I have come from Kheda. I've been told to carry two bodies. I've come just with the staff. I've been here since Saturday morning, around 10 or 11am,' he told The Independent.
Mr Singh explained that the coordination process is strictly managed by government officials.
'First I will receive a call that the body is ready for transportation. We are not supposed to contact the families. A nodal officer from here will inform the families at home that the mortal remains have been dispatched,' he said.
Bharat Godia, who arrived from Kutch, said they had brought multiple ambulances on orders from the district administration.
'We've been told by the Kutch administration that we are to bring back the bodies of those killed in the plane crash. We have at least five ambulances from Kutch. Government officials will be accompanying the bodies,' he said.
Earlier, a relative of one of the victims told The Independent that each bereaved family has been assigned a nodal officer, who will contact them once a DNA match has been confirmed.
Namita Singh15 June 2025 06:20
Families begin receiving bodies of Air India crash victims under tight police security
There is a heavy police presence around the mortuary complex at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, as the painful process of body handover begins.
According to officials on duty, at least 19 bodies have been handed over to the kin of the plane crash victims so far. However, there has been no official confirmation.
Namita Singh15 June 2025 05:44
Watch | King holds minute's silence for Air India crash victims
Jabed Ahmed15 June 2025 04:00
'My grandson was burnt alive': Grief engulfs neighbourhood where Air India crash killed dozens on the ground
Miracle sole survivor of Air India flight 171 reveals how he escaped the wreckage
British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh spoke from his hospital bed following the fireball crash in Ahmedabad
Jabed Ahmed15 June 2025 03:00
Watch | Air India crash sole survivor recalls how he escaped plane
15 June 2025 02:00
UK student missed doomed Air India flight by minutes: 'It's a miracle'
UK student missed doomed Air India flight by minutes: 'It's a miracle'
The 28-year-old, who lives in Bristol, said she felt 'totally numb' after finding out the flight had crashed, killing 241 people
Jabed Ahmed15 June 2025 01:00
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