• Source:JND
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Ahmedabad Plane Crash: An Ahmedabad-London Air India plane with 242 passengers and crew on board crashed into a medical college complex in Gujarat Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday, prompting the launch of the massive rescue operation. While, the authorities remained mum on the number of casualties, the police found a survivor. 

According to the media report, the sole survivor of Air India plane crash was identified as 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Asarwa in Ahmedabad.

Speaking to the news agency, ANI, on a phone call, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said, "The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area."

Chances Of Survivors Slim In The Deadly Plane Crash

There was no official count of those killed even hours after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and burst into a ball of fire.

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As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said chances of survival of those on board were remote and up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died.

According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 were two pilots and 10 crew members.

'Mayday' Distress Call Was Issued Before Crash

The pilot of the twin-engine wide bodied aircraft issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.


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The search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments.

The 11-year-old aircraft could be seen from miles away, losing altitude rapidly and combusting in a fiery blaze that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.

The aircraft climbed just about 600-800 feet before plummeting to the ground almost immediately, aviation sources said.

Vijay Rupani Was Among The Passengers

Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani was among the passengers on the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport.
“The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
(With agencies inputs)