In one of the darkest days in Indian aviation history, more than 200 people have lost their lives after an Air India Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, en route to London. The tragic incident marks India’s worst civil aviation disaster in nearly 30 years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday, surveying the wreckage and expressing condolences to the victims’ families. “The scene of devastation is saddening,” he said in a social media post. “Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy.”
According to Air India, 230 passengers and 12 crew members were onboard, with only one survivor – a British national of Indian origin identified as Viswash Kumar Ramesh. He was reportedly seated near an emergency exit. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” Ramesh told the Hindustan Times from his hospital bed.
The plane came down on the campus of BJ Medical College, damaging several buildings while students were having lunch. The Federation of All India Medical Association confirmed five students were missing, with 60 others injured – three critically. The wife of a resident doctor was also found dead, and several labourers working nearby were killed.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu announced a “fair and thorough investigation” into the crash. “We want to reach the depth of why this incident has happened,” he said, while Air India assured full cooperation with authorities.
Forensic teams continued combing through debris overnight. The black box is expected to provide critical insights. “The pilots must have spoken in the cockpit before the tragedy,” said Jitender Bhargava, a former Air India executive and aviation author.
Air India reported that the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The crash is a major blow to the airline, currently undergoing a five-year turnaround under Tata Group since its 2022 acquisition.
This tragedy comes five years after the last major fatal crash in India — an Air India Express Boeing 737 that overshot the runway in Kozhikode, killing 21. In 2010, another Air India Express flight from Dubai crashed on landing in Mangalore, claiming 158 lives.
India’s deadliest aviation disaster remains the 1996 mid-air collision between Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakhstan Airlines, killing 349 people.
Adding to Friday’s turmoil, an unrelated Air India flight from Phuket to New Delhi had to make an emergency landing following a bomb threat. The aircraft, carrying 156 passengers, was diverted back to Phuket after circling the Andaman Sea. Air India cited “operational reasons” for the diversion, while Thai authorities investigated the threat.
As the country mourns, the focus now shifts to uncovering the causes behind the devastating crash and preventing such tragedies in the future.