Investigators searched the site of one of India‘s worst aviation disasters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger on Friday, a day after an Air India flight fell from the sky and killed 241 people on board and several people on the ground.
DNA testing was being conducted to identify bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition.
More victims are expected to be found in the search at the crash site. There was no information on whether the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered.
The plane hit a building hosting a medical college hostel and burst into flames, killing several students, in the city that is the capital of Gujarat, Modi’s home state.
“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,” Modi said on social media after visiting the site.
“We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.”
Meanwhile, the Phuket International Airport in southern Thailand said on Friday it received a report that a pilot of Air India flight AI 379, which was bound for New Delhi, found a bomb threat message shortly after the morning flight took off.
The plane requested an emergency landing back at Phuket and all 156 passengers were evacuated before authorities began an inspection of the plane, the airport said. The inspection results were not immediately announced.
The survivor was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries.
Viswashkumar Ramesh told India’s national broadcaster he still can’t believe he was alive. He said the aircraft seemed to become stuck immediately after takeoff. He said then the lights came on, and right after that it accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed.
He said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.
“When I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive,” he said.
Investigation into the cause and identification of victims
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating, and the US participants in the probe are expected to include people from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric.
Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Two doctors at the hospital said the bodies of four medical students killed on the ground after the plane crash were handed to their families.
They said at least 30 other injured students were still admitted in the hospital and at least four of them were critical.
Modi held a meeting with senior officials on Friday and met some of those injured on the ground during the hospital visit.
Thursday’s Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.
According to experts, there are currently around 1200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation.
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled national carrier to private ownership after decades of government control. Since the takeover, Air India has ordered hundreds of new planes, redesigned its branding and livery and absorbed smaller airlines Tata held stakes in.
Eyewitness accounts describe damage
Residents living in the vicinity, who were among the first to rush to the crash site and help with rescue, described the scale of damage like they had never seen.
“In the beginning, I couldn’t understand anything, it was only smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning,” Indrajeet Singh Solanki said.
Solanki said he and many others helped the injured people and rushed them to hospitals. “We had only one aim: to save lives no matter what happens,” he said.
The tragedy has left him shaken. “It will be hard to sleep for the next few days at least,” Solanki said.
