Ahmedabad Air India crash: One more body recovered from AI-171 wreckage
Air India's AI-171 crashed near Ahmedabad airport, killing over 270 people, marking India's worst aviation disaster. The Dreamliner, en route to London, plummeted into a medical college campus shortly after takeoff.
NEW DELHI: Rescuers on Saturday recovered another body from the wreckage of Air India's AI-171, which crashed into the BJ Medical College campus in Ahmedabad on Thursday, taking the death toll to over 270 in what is now India's worst-ever single aircraft disaster.
The airline had earlier confirmed 241 fatalities among the 242 people onboard, with one survivor. Authorities have also confirmed 33 deaths on the ground.
Officials confirmed that the black box of the Dreamliner was retrieved on Friday from the mangled rooftop of the student mess, metres away from where the aircraft's fuselage had ruptured and burned. 'The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were intact and have been handed over to investigators,' said Joint Commissioner of Police Neeraj Badgujar.
The aircraft's emergency location transmitter had been recovered late Thursday night.
The Air India flight, with 242 people on board, had taken off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39pm for London's Gatwick. It reached just 425 feet in altitude before losing thrust and slamming into the residential quarters and hostel mess on the medical college campus, located just 3km from the runway's edge.
The impact and subsequent fireball killed almost everyone onboard, and many on the ground — including doctors, their families, medical students, workers, and residents of Meghaninagar, where the college is located.
The extent of destruction has left most victims unidentifiable to the naked eye. A senior official said, 'We have sent 319 body parts, including full and partial remains, for DNA matching.' On Friday alone, 219 DNA samples were collected from relatives at BJ Medical College.
Bodies of only eight confirmed victims were handed over to their families.
'Most of the remains are charred beyond recognition,' the official added. DNA confirmation is expected within 48–72 hours. Until then, families continue to sit outside the college, holding photos, scanning hospital lists, and waiting.
Among the deceased was Dr Jay Prakash Chaudhary, a second-year MBBS student originally from Rajasthan.
He had been reported missing on Thursday, and was identified by friends and relatives on Friday.
Sources said that several doctors living in the residential block — and their visiting family members — are still untraceable. The death of a pregnant woman, the wife of a neurosurgery resident, has also been confirmed.
Local resident Nilam Patni, in tears, shared how her 14-year-old brother became a victim. 'He had gone to deliver lunch to my mother near the New Mental Hospital compound and fell asleep beside her.
He didn't wake up,' she said. Her mother, Sita, a street vendor, remains in the ICU.
Ashok Patni, from the same area, said his 55-year-old uncle had been missing since the incident. 'He was seen in the crash zone just minutes before it happened. My cousin has given a blood sample in case one of the unidentified bodies is his.'
Another missing person is 20-year-old Arshdeep Banga, an IT professional. His mother, Ranjit Kaur, clutched his photograph outside the hospital: 'We still believe he might be alive… please pray for him.'
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and fire and emergency departments have been deployed round-the-clock for recovery and identification work.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in coordination with state officials and technical personnel from the Airports Authority of India, has launched a detailed probe into the cause of the crash. A team of 40 specialists has been deputed to assist.
Experts suspect either a dual engine failure or bird strike soon after takeoff. The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, had barely issued a 'Mayday' when the aircraft dropped from the sky.
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