a day ago
Air India plane crash: Death toll climbs to 270 as search for bodies continues
The cause of the crash is unknown, but one black box has been recovered.
At least 270 people have now been confirmed dead by search and recovery teams scouring the wreckage of an Air India flight which crashed in India days ago.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when it fell in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff.
Recovery teams working until late on Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said.
The death toll previously stood at 241 people - including passengers on board the flight and medical students on the ground - but the number of people killed on the ground was expected to rise.
De Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad said the facility had received 270 bodies, adding that the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds.
'He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,' Gameti said Saturday.
Vishwash's brother, Nayankumar Ramesh, has told ITV News of the family's shock after they received a call from him shortly after the plane crashed.
"When the plane crashed, he called my dad, saying the plane had crashed, and I'm not sure how I made it out. He was confused. He couldn't see our other brother," he said.
Ajay Kumar Ramesh is still unaccounted for.
Three Britons who died in the crash were named by the Gloucester Muslim Community on Facebook as Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
British couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual wellness centre, were also reportedly killed.
The plane crash is one of the deadliest in terms of the number of British nationals killed and the first involving a 787.
The plane's black box was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site Friday, and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it has begun its work with 'full force.'
A committee formed to investigate the root cause of the crash will report within three months, the Indian government's ministry of civil aviation committee will have access to flight data, cockpit voice recordings and maintenance records.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has launched an investigation in line with global protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
A team from the US and the UK are being deployed to India to support the investigation.
Aviation experts have speculated about a number of possible causes for 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 company said it would also cover the medical costs of the injured and provide support in the 'building up' of the medical 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.
The airline's UK operations are based at Birmingham, Gatwick and Heathrow, with routes to a number of Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said any British nationals requiring consular assistance, or who have concerns about family or friends, should call 020 7008 5000.
