One survivor has reportedly been found in the Air India plane crash. The Air India plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a western city in India yesterday morning.
The plane was headed for London’s Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom with 242 people on board. According to BBC, GS Malik, Ahmedabad police commissioner, said there was one survivor, who was in seat 11A on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight.
“He has been in the hospital and is under treatment,” he said. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that a single passenger survived the crash and he met him at the hospital. A doctor said he had examined the survivor, whom he identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh. “He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. “But he seems to be out of danger.”
The flight manifest shared earlier by authorities lists the passenger in seat 11A as Ramesh, a British national. Ramesh was reported saying: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.” Speaking further he said: “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.”
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, said medical students who were in a college hostel when the plane hit the building are among the dead.
“Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,” she said. Other officials said as many as 60 of the students suffered injuries and had to be hospitalised. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabilizer fins still attached to it was lodged near the top of one of the buildings.
Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site.
Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured. UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation into the plane crash.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) says it has “formally offered its assistance” to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in India. The UK AAIB will have expert status in the Indian investigation because UK citizens were on board the plane.
“We are deploying a multidisciplinary investigation team to India to support the Indian-led investigation. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic accident,” a statement by the AAIB reads.
On its part, Air India said it is organising two relief flights to Ahmedabad for families of the passengers involved in the plane crash and airline staff. “Next of kin of passengers and staff in Delhi and Mumbai wanting to travel on these flights can call our hotline on 1800 5691 444.
Additionally, those coming in from international destinations and wanting to travel can call our hotline on +91 8062779200,” the airline said in a statement. Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has extended his heartfelt condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government, and the people of the Republic of India following the crash.
The plane carried two pilots, 10 cabin crew, 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. In a release by the Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu expressed deep sorrow over the tragic incident and offered prayers for the families of the victims, the injured, and the entire Indian nation during this moment of grief.
The President also commiserated with the leaders of Great Britain, Portugal, and Canada over losing their nationals on the ill-fated flight.
He commended the swift response of the emergency agencies in India and expressed his confidence in their capacity and compassion to make a difference in the complicated situation. The President prayed that the Almighty God would receive the souls of the departed and comfort their families.
