Ahmedabad plane crash: Bodies of 6 victims handed over to families
A day after the fatal plane crash, Bodies of six victims, who lost their lives in the deadly Air India plane crash on Thursday, were handed over to relatives, police said today.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ahmedabad on Friday and took stock of the situation at the crash site. He also met those injured in the incident at the Ahmedabad civic hospital.
PM Modi also held a review meeting with top officials as India launched a formal investigation into Thursday’s Air India plane crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, one of the worst air tragedies in recent times.
Both American and British investigation teams were deployed to support the India-led investigation. The US National Transportation Safety Board announced it would send investigators to assist their Indian counterparts, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that a UK investigation team had been dispatched.
On the other hand, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has ramped up its emergency response, increasing the number of deployed teams at the crash site to seven. As of Friday morning, 81 bodies were recovered from the wreckage, said NDRF Inspector Vinay Kumar.
At least 260 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed 33 seconds after taking off on Thursday and rammed into a nearby medical college hostel.
While the government so far hasn’t released official figures of casualties, Union home minister Amit Shah confirmed that only one of the 242 people on board – 230 passengers and 12 crew members – survived; Ahmedabad IG Vidhi Chaudhary said the toll stood at 260 people, suggesting that more people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball. Officials said at least 50 more students were injured in the hostel.
Eyewitnesses described a massive fireball and black smoke rising into the sky moments after the aircraft went down.