Shattered, this family from Bapunagar in Ahmedabad sits in the designated area, their faces hollow with grief. They lost their sister and husband in Thursday's flight crash. Police say most bodies are charred beyond recognition and DNA tests are being conducted.
Air India plane crash LIVE: Black box found; DGCA orders safety audit for Dreamliner fleet
PM Narendra Modi visits Ahmedabad, holds review meetings with top officials of the Gujarat government
Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday (June 13) ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet powered by GEnx engines, a day after 241 people onboard died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad.
The enhanced DGCA inspection will include checks of various systems and a review of take-off parameters of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft of Air India, owned by the Tata Group.
Air India's fleet includes 26 Boeing 787-8 aircraft and 7 Boeing 787-9 planes.
PM's review meet
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting in Ahmedabad with top officials of the Gujarat government after visiting the site of the Air India plane crash.
During the meeting, PM Modi was briefed about the series of events that unfolded after the plane crash in which 265 people lost their lives on Thursday, and he also gave instructions to officials. He visited the crash site and city civil hospital earlier in the day.
“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heart-breaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families. We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come. Om Shanti,” Modi said in a post on X.
Modi also met the family of former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and offered his condolences. The former CM died in the flight crash.
Read updates here.
Live Updates
- 13 Jun 2025 2:33 PM IST
Ahmedabad plane crash victim AI cabin crew member from Manipur was sole bread earner of family
Twenty-six-year-old Lamnunthem Singson, who was one of the two crew members from Manipur and killed in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, was the sole earning member of her family, which had faced the brunt of the ethnic violence in the northeastern state.
She had last talked to her widowed mother over the phone on June 11, her cousin said on Friday.
Singson told her mother that she would fly to London on Thursday and wanted to sleep early the previous night, he said.
The third child among four siblings, Singson was the "only daughter and their widowed mother had struggled much to raise all of them", her cousin Lun Kipgen said.
"The 26-year-old was the sole earning member of the family. Her eldest brother is unemployed and suffering from a chronic disease, while two other brothers are studying," Kipgen told PTI.
Though unwell, her eldest brother is already on his way to Ahmedabad, while another brother and a cousin went from Kangpokpi to Nagaland's Dimapur, and will go to the Gujarat city, he said.
Kipgen said, "We are devastated by the news. Her mother is in deep shock and refused to eat since the crash reports surfaced." Air India authorities called Singson's family late on Thursday and said her body was yet to be identified, he claimed.
- 13 Jun 2025 2:29 PM IST
Ahmedabad plane crash: Chinese President Xi extended condolences to President Murmu and PM Modi
Beijing, Jun 13 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday extended condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the loss of lives in the plane crash at Ahmedabad.
At least 265 people were killed on Thursday when the London-bound Air India plane crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad and burst into a ball of fire less than a minute after take-off.
In his message to President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, Xi expressed shock upon learning about the heavy casualties in the crash.
On behalf of the Chinese government and people, he conveyed deep condolences over the loss of lives, extended sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families, and wished the injured a swift recovery, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang also sent a message of condolence to Prime Minister Modi.
A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday. Among the dead were 241 on board and 24 from a medical college complex on which the plane crashed.
The AI 171 flight had 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals onboard apart from 12 crew members; one British national survived the tragedy.
Xi also sent a separate message of condolence to Britain's King Charles III expressing shock and sorrow over the British casualties in the plane crash.
President Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, expressed deep condolences to the victims, conveyed sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured, and wished the injured an early recovery, Xinhua said.
Chinese Premier Li also sent a message of condolence to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. PTI
- 13 Jun 2025 2:08 PM IST
Ahmedabad plane crash: Was position of survivor's seat '11A' a factor in his escape?
'11A' was one of the 238 economy class seats in the ill-fated Air India Dreamliner that crashed on Thursday, killing 241 people onboard and leaving just one survivor.
And the lone survivor -- a British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh (45) -- was the occupant of '11A'.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft, better known as the Dreamliner, operating the Ahmedabad-London AI171 flight, had 242 people onboard, including 12 crew members.
'11A' is among the six seats in the first row of the economy class of Air India's B787-8 planes. It is the window seat near one of the emergency exit doors as well as the aircraft galley area, according to the seat map.
While it might be too early to conclude on the factors that helped Ramesh exit the aircraft that went up in flames, being seated near the emergency exit door could be one of the reasons for his miraculous escape.
Currently, there are 27 B787-8 planes in the Air India fleet and each of them has 238 economy and 18 business class seats.
All these aircraft are set to go for retrofit in the coming months.
Air India has confirmed that 241 people onboard the AI171 flight have died. PTI
- 13 Jun 2025 2:00 PM IST
Ahmedabad plane crash: Ex CM Rupani's lucky number 1206 becomes date of his demise
Former chief minister Vijay Rupani considered 1206 his lucky number and ensured it featured on all vehicles he owned over the years.
The number has now become synonymous with one of the worst aviation tragedies in India's history, in which he lost his life along with 264 others on Thursday.
Rupani was among 242 persons on board a London-bound Air India flight that crashed into a building of a medical college and hostel in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
The former chief minister considered 1206 as his lucky number, but it has now become the date of his final journey, June 12 (12/6).
In his hometown Rajkot, people could identify Rupani's car by its vehicle registration number 1206.PTI
According to locals of Rajkot and journalists, Rupani's scooters and cars bore the same number.
Rupani was travelling to his daughter's place in London, as his wife Anjaliben, who is also an active member of the BJP, was also there.
Anjaliben reached Gandhinagar on Friday morning.
