Latest news with #DrDhavalGameti
CBC
17 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Search teams scour Air India plane crash site as death toll rises to 270, relatives press for answers
Social Sharing Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Saturday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said. Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad said the facility had received 270 bodies, adding the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds. WATCH | How a man ended up being the lone survivor of Air India crash: Sole survivor walks away after fiery Air India crash kills hundreds 1 day ago Duration 3:30 A fiery plane crash in western India has left a single surviving passenger, a British national, who reportedly walked from the site to an ambulance. The London-bound Air India Boeing 787 went down just after takeoff with 242 people aboard, including at least one Canadian. "He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon," Gameti said Saturday. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or otherwise unrecognizable. 'Where are my children?' Some relatives have expressed frustration that the process is taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. "Where are my children? Did you recover them?" asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight. "I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions." Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites. "Give us the body," the relative insisted. Among those on the flight was a Canadian citizen, Mississauga, Ont., dentist Dr. Nirali Sureshkumar Patel, her husband has confirmed. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government says it has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future and "will not be a substitute to other inquiries being conducted by relevant organizations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with "full force" to extract the data. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Data recorder key to getting quick answers Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what caused the crash as soon as next week, as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape. Investigators likely are looking at whether wing flaps were set correctly, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit and if the plane's crew correctly logged information about the hot temperature outside and the weight of the fuel and passengers, Guzzetti said. Mistakes in the data could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly, he said. Thursday's crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide, and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
The Independent
a day ago
- Science
- The Independent
Death toll of Air India plane crash climbs to at least 270
Search and recovery teams have continued searching the site of the Air India crash in Gujarat state for a third day, considered one of India's worst aviation disasters. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground, while one passenger survived. The death toll now stands at at least 270. Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad reported that the facility had received 270 bodies, and the lone survivor is recovering well. Hundreds of relatives provided DNA samples to identify the bodies, with some expressing frustration over the slow process; authorities stated that DNA matching typically takes up to 72 hours. Investigators recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder (black box) from a rooftop near the crash site, which is expected to provide clues about the cause of the accident; the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has begun analysing the data.
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
At least 270 people killed in Air India crash as search teams find more bodies
Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said. The London -bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said. Dr Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told The Associated Press 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,' Dr Gameti said Saturday. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable. Some relatives expressed frustration Saturday that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. 'Where are my children? Did you recover them?' asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight. 'I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions." Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites. 'Give us the body,' the relative insisted. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident. India 's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with 'full force' to extract the data. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what caused the crash as soon as next week as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape. Investigators likely are looking at whether wing flaps were set correctly, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit and if the plane's crew correctly logged information about the hot temperature outside and the weight of the fuel and passengers, Guzzetti said. Mistakes in the data could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly, he said. Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
British survivor of Air India plane crash gives his most shocking account of the disaster: 'Air hostesses died before my eyes... we crashed into the building at full speed. I thought I was going to die'
The sole survivor of yesterday's deadly Air India plane crash has shared his shocking account of the disaster and described how he 'jumped out' after the jet smashed into the ground. Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, miraculously survived the plane disaster, which killed all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on-board. Mr Ramesh, who lives in London with his wife and child, is being treated at a hospital in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, where he told doctors that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two. Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who examined Mr Ramesh, told the Associated Press that he was disoriented with 'multiple injuries all over his body', but that he 'seems to be out of danger.' Speaking to Indian broadcaster Doordarshan, Mr Ramesh recounted his horrific ordeal, and spoke of how he witnessed two air hostesses die 'in front of my eyes'. 'I don't know how I came out of it alive', he said from his hospital bed. 'For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive. And I opened my seatbelt and got out of there.' His seat was placed right next to the emergency door, which he says came off when the plane hit the ground. 'The side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building,' Mr Ramesh recounted. 'There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out.' 'The door must've broken on impact,' he said. 'There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how.' When the plane hit the ground yesterday, seat 11A, where Mr Ramesh was sat, collapsed into the ground floor of the building, instead of the upper levels where the jet's main body was badly destroyed. Mr Ramesh also described how just moments after take off, it 'felt like the plane had got stuck.' He recalled how the pilots tried to raise the jet, but it 'went full speed and crashed into the building'. Mr Ramesh explained how the plane quickly caught fire following the crash, and said he burned his arm. Astonishing footage taken near the crash site yesterday showed Mr Ramesh with visible injuries hobbling away from the jet before he was rushed to hospital for treatment. Mr Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight and is presumed dead, described yesterday how he heard a 'a loud noise' before the plane crashed. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. 'There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.' India's prime minister met the plane crash survivor on Friday, as well as those who were injured on the ground. Photos show PM Narendra Modi leaning over an injured Mr Ramesh who is lying in a hospital bed as the pair have a conversation. India's leader was also pictured visiting the site of the crash. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,' Modi said on social media after his visit. 'We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.' The Indian government has launched an investigation into the fatal crash of the London-bound plane that came down in a residential area of Ahmedabad. Officials said most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. There was no news early Friday on the cause of the crash, or on efforts to retrieve the black boxes - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - as authorities continued to search the crash site. The plane hit a building housing medical students and burst into flames, killing several college students on the ground. Shocking images and videos showed how black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than five million and the capital of Gujarat. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated a probe into the disaster in line with global protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, said Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu in a statement on social media. A team from the United States is expected to arrive in India to help. The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are all sending experts. Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the national president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
British Air India plane crash survivor describes how the jet split in two and he was 'ejected' before it exploded - as he is visited by Indian PM
The sole survivor of the deadly Air India plane crash disaster was saved after he was 'ejected'from the jet before it hit the ground and exploded into a huge fireball. Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, miraculously survived the plane disaster, which killed all but one 242 passengers and crew on-board in in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad. Mr Ramesh, who lives in London with his wife and child, is being treated at a local hospital, where he told doctors that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, ejecting him before there was a loud explosion. Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who also examined Mr Ramesh, told the Associated Press that he was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body' but that he 'seems to be out of danger.' Astonishing footage taken near the crash site yesterday showed Mr Ramesh with visible injuries hobbling away from the jet before he was rushed to hospital for treatment. Speaking to local media from his hospital bed, Mr Ramesh said that his brother had been sitting on another row adding 'I can't find him anymore'. 'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,' he added. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. 'There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.' India's prime minister met the plane crash survivor on Friday, as well as those who were injured on the ground. Photos show PM Narendra Modi leaning over an injured Mr Ramesh who is lying in a hospital bed as the pair have a conversation. India's leader was also pictured visiting the site of the crash. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,' Modi said on social media after his visit. 'We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.' The Indian government has launched an investigation into the fatal crash of the London-bound plane that came down in a residential area of Ahmedabad. Officials said most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. There was no news early Friday on the cause of the crash, or on efforts to retrieve the black boxes - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - as authorities continued to search the crash site. The plane hit a building housing medical students and burst into flames, killing several college students on the ground. Shocking images and videos showed how black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than five million and the capital of Gujarat. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated a probe into the disaster in line with global protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, said Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu in a statement on social media. A team from the United States is expected to arrive in India to help. The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are all sending experts. Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the national president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday.
