The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today morning visited the scene of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad and is meeting injured people in hospital.
It’s now confirmed that all the 242 people on board the London-bound flight died and only one survived when it crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off yesterday morning.
A Government official told journalists that it is not yet clear how many people were killed on the ground, but at least eight had died where the plane crashed.
The sole survivor, British national idenfied as Vishwashkumar Ramesh who sat in seat 11A, is recovering in hospital and his brother saying thst he has no idea how he survived.
According to India Air there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight and since yesterday, families have been giving DNA samples to help identify the victims.
What exactly happened to Flight AI171 between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick yesterday afternoon will only be revealed by a detailed investigation, but the moments after take-off can be the most challenging in aviation.
Indian investigators have been joined by experts from the US and UK, as authorities attempt to establish what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to crash shortly after take-off just 1.5km from the runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
It marks the first time a 787-8 Dreamliner has suffered a fatal crash since it entered commercial service in 2011 and this disaster killed the highest number so far at 241 people onboard and more on the ground.
Aviation experts as well as pilots based in India who spoke on the condition of anonymity, but who regularly fly 787-8s out of India’s international airports are yet to find out what factors might have caused the plane to slam into residential buildings in the heart of Ahmedabad just moments into its flight.
Additional Reporting from Associated Press
