Latest news with #RajuPatel
NDTV
18-06-2025
- General
- NDTV
Gold, Cash, Gita: Builder Helps Families Get Back Crash Victims' Belongings
Ahmedabad: While police, disaster response workers and local authorities scoured the debris in Ahmedabad hoping to find survivors after the AI171 plane crash, Raju Patel and his friends launched another operation of their own - to recover personal belongings of the victims. Mr Patel, a builder, and his friends plunged into action the moment they heard about the Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashing into the medical hostel and ending up in flames. "I had come home for lunch when I learnt about the crash. We took an ambulance from the nearest hospital and reached the crash site," he told NDTV. Mr Patel and his friends helped the rescuers and other personnel retrieve bodies from the charred and still burning wreckage. After a few hours, they started collecting valuables and belongings they found in the mangled remains of the Dreamliner. They found around 800 grams of gold, mobile phones, passports, idols and clothes of God, a Bhagavad Gita and cash. They borrowed bags from rescuers and locals on the site to store the valuables and handed them over to the authorities. As of Wednesday, at least 202 victims have been identified through DNA testing, while 157 bodies have been handed over to families. The plane crash resulted in 274 deaths - 241 on the aircraft and the rest on the ground. Only one person on the doomed aircraft, a British national, miraculously survived. Following the June 13 crash, tragic visuals emerged including that of an eight-month-old child in line to give a sample for DNA testing. Another video showed students and staff jumping out of the medical college building where the plane had crashed. The crash brought Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, known for its immaculate safety record, under scrutiny with 66 flights of the series being cancelled between June 12 and 17 due to technical snags and other reasons. But in the latest review on Tuesday, aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that 24 of the 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with Air India are compliant with safety standards.
India Today
18-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Honesty amid chaos: Man returns cash, jewellery found at Air India crash site
As news broke of an Air India aircraft crashing into a residential neighbourhood in Ahmedabad last week, 56-year-old Raju Patel didn't dither in rushing to the site for rescue operations. Within 15 minutes, Raju reached BJ Medical College on June the first responders, the businessman helped in pulling out victims and also recovered jewellery and cash from the debris, which he later handed over to the police. advertisementThe London-bound Air India flight (AI-171) crashed into the medical college campus in Ahmedabad last week just seconds after take-off, killing 274 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board and over two dozen others on the ground. When Raju reached the site, all he witnessed was chaos, thick plumes of smoke, rising flames, and screams and wails piercing the air. Without much ado, he and others used clothes and mats provided by locals to carry the injured to ambulances. The London-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad last week "When I reached the crash site within 15 minutes, all I could see was thick black smoke. After a while, when the fire brigade partially brought the fire under control, we began rescue operations," Raju told said many were charred and dismembered far beyond recognition. "The bodies we found were charred beyond recognition. With the help of clothes and mats provided by the locals, we carried the bodies to ambulances," Raju rescue officials arrived, Raju took on the task of sifting through the debris for jewellery, cash, and documents."About three hours later, near the Atulyam Building where the engine had crashed, we removed some debris using iron rods and found a few bags," Raju said. Raju took on the task of sifting through the debris for jewellery, cash, and documents He recovered several items, including cash, passports, mobile phones, laptops, ID cards, and jewellery, and handed them over to the police."We recovered Rs 60,000 in cash, foreign currency, laptops, mobile phones, ID cards, and gold, including necklaces, bangles, mangalsutras, rings, and silver items. By 9 pm, we had collected all the belongings of the passengers that we could find," Raju further Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said each salvaged item was being documented and would be returned to the families of the InTrending Reel
Hindustan Times
18-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
‘70 tolas of gold, ₹80,000 cash': What first responder saw at Ahmedabad Air India crash site
The Air India plane crash on 12 June in Ahmedabad triggered a swift emergency response, with local residents rushing to help. Among the first to arrive was Raju Patel, a 56-year-old construction businessman, who reached the site with his team within five minutes of the crash. The aircraft went down at the canteen of the BJ Medical College, where students were having lunch at the time. Visuals from the scene showed a massive blaze erupting on impact. 'For the first 15 to 20 minutes, we could barely get close. The fire was too intense,' Times of India quoted Raju Patel as saying. He said that once emergency services arrived, his team began helping, using sarees and bedsheets to carry the injured in the absence of stretchers. They were allowed to remain at the site until 9 pm. 'But once the first fire brigade and 108 ambulances arrived, we jumped in to help. We did what we could,' he added. Amid the wreckage, Patel saw burnt luggage scattered across the charred ground as his team joined efforts to search for belongings. They recovered 70 tolas (over 800 grams) of gold jewellery, ₹80,000 in cash, passports, and a Bhagawad Gita, all of which were handed over to the police. Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi later said that each salvaged item is being documented and will be returned to the victims' families. Patel, whose history of volunteering includes the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, said he was deeply affected by what he witnessed. 'I'm just grateful we could do something,' he said. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew and headed for Britain's Gatwick Airport, began losing altitude just seconds after takeoff on Thursday. This tragedy marks the world's deadliest aviation disaster in the past decade. Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at BJ Medical College, told reporters that at least 270 bodies have been recovered from the crash site. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived, while the rest were killed when the plane crashed into the medical college's hostel during its descent. The tragedy has cast a shadow over Air India, which has been striving to restore its reputation and modernise its fleet since the Tata Group took over from the Indian government in 2022.
Mint
17-06-2025
- Mint
70 tolas of gold, ₹80,000 cash – What first responder found at Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad
Air India Plane Crash: On June 12, local residents became the first responders when an Air India flight came down crashing at a hostel for medical students in Ahmedabad and immediately blew up in flames, in one of the worst plane crashes of India. The crumpled fuselage of the AI171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft gave rise to flames that refused to go out, even with the piercing screams of passengers and residents of the BJ Medical College hostel. But the flames were so intense that it prevented Raju Patel, a businessman in the construction field who ran to the scene without thinking, from entering the actual scene of the accident. As per a report by The Times of India, Patel and his crew responded to the accident within five minutes of the Air India plane crash. "For the first 15 to 20 minutes, we could barely get close. The fire was too intense," Patel was quoted as saying by The Times of India. He said that his team could only help when the fire brigade and the ambulance arrived, and they did not waste time to jump into action. 'But once the first fire brigade and 108 ambulances arrived, we jumped in to help.' 'We did what we could,' Patel, whose team was there at the site till 9 pm, told the newspaper. As more disaster management personnel got deployed at the Air India crash site on June 12, Patel's team did what came next – searching through the wreckage. While combing through the area, the businessman's team found countless baggage burned and scattered around the area. Not only this, Patel found about 70 tolas (around 800 grams) of gold, ₹ 80,000 in cash, a Bhagwad Gita and some passports. All of their findings were handed over to the authorities, as per the TOI report. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced on Sunday that all the retrieved items will be identified and sent to the next of kin of the victims. 'I'm just grateful we could do something,' Patel was quoted as saying by TOI. Patel also has a history of volunteering during the Ahmedabad serial blasts, but said he will never forget the Air India plane crash. 'I was just 100m from the civil hospital when a bomb went off. But the destruction here... the flames... I will never forget this,' he said.
Mint
17-06-2025
- Mint
70 tolas of gold, ₹80,000 cash – What first responder found at Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad
Air India Plane Crash: On June 12, local residents became the first responders when an Air India flight came down crashing at a hostel for medical students in Ahmedabad and immediately blew up in flames, in one of the worst plane crashes of India. The crumpled fuselage of the AI171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft gave rise to flames that refused to go out, even with the piercing screams of passengers and residents of the BJ Medical College hostel. But the flames were so intense that it prevented Raju Patel, a businessman in the construction field who ran to the scene without thinking, from entering the actual scene of the accident. As per a report by The Times of India, Patel and his crew responded to the accident within five minutes of the Air India plane crash. "For the first 15 to 20 minutes, we could barely get close. The fire was too intense," Patel was quoted as saying by The Times of India. He said that his team could only help when the fire brigade and the ambulance arrived, and they did not waste time to jump into action. 'But once the first fire brigade and 108 ambulances arrived, we jumped in to help.' 'We did what we could,' Patel, whose team was there at the site till 9 pm, told the newspaper. As more disaster management personnel got deployed at the Air India crash site on June 12, Patel's team did what came next – searching through the wreckage. While combing through the area, the businessman's team found countless baggage burned and scattered around the area. Not only this, Patel found about 70 tolas (around 800 grams) of gold, ₹ 80,000 in cash, a Bhagwad Gita and some passports. All of their findings were handed over to the authorities, as per the TOI report. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced on Sunday that all the retrieved items will be identified and sent to the next of kin of the victims. 'I'm just grateful we could do something,' Patel was quoted as saying by TOI. Patel also has a history of volunteering during the Ahmedabad serial blasts, but said he will never forget the Air India plane crash. 'I was just 100m from the civil hospital when a bomb went off. But the destruction here... the flames... I will never forget this,' he said. The June 12 Air India plane crash killed 241 people on board and the total death toll was pegged at 271.
