Rescue efforts went on in earnest on Friday with teams accompanied by sniffer dogs combing the wreckage of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that had crashed into a residential neighborhood in the densely populated city of Ahmedabad and killed at least 265 people, both those on board and residents on the ground.
The flight to London, carrying 242 passengers, crashed just after takeoff on Thursday. A miracle survivor was left after the crash, with sections of the plane stuck in the local buildings. The jet's tail was reported wedged in the top floors of a medical staff hostel, while the nose section ended up on top of a canteen where students had been having lunch, witnesses reported.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had been retrieved thus far. "The figure includes those who died on the ground," she assured, adding that the death toll could increase as more bodies were located. Wooden coffins were being transported in ambulances to hospitals, but Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated that, "The official death count will be announced only after DNA tests are over." He further stated that relatives of passengers who lived abroad had been informed, and efforts were being made for taking their DNA samples.
The ill-fated flight had 217 adults, 13 children (two of whom were infants), two pilots and ten crew members as passengers, as per Reuters information. Air India corroborated that most of the passengers were Indian nationals (169), followed by British citizens (53), seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
In accordance with the Hindustan Times, it was recovered one of the two black boxes of the aircraft. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the site of the crash and referred to the accident as "heartbreaking beyond words."
The only survivor, who has been described as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh – a British citizen of Indian origin – is undergoing treatment. Footage following the accident revealed him to be covered in blood and limping towards an ambulance. Police confirmed he had been sitting in an emergency exit seat and was able to jump out of the plane before it erupted. "He said: 'I have no idea how I exited the plane,'" his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh told PA Media in Leicester, UK.
In an emergency centre in Ahmedabad, relatives waited nervously, providing DNA samples hoping to identify their missing loved ones. Among them was 40-year-old Ashfaque Nanabawa, looking for his cousin Akeel, who had been on the plane with his wife and small daughter. "He phoned us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was OK.' That was his last call," Nanabawa recounted.
The plane crashed within a minute of take-off, going only to a height of around 100 meters. A mayday call was put out moments before it crashed, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Ahmedabad, the state capital of Gujarat, is home to about 8 million people and has a congested airport surrounded by residential areas.
"Half of the airplane crashed into the residential building where doctors and their families resided," a local doctor named Krishna recalled.
Boeing released a statement announcing it was close to Air India and ready to assist with the investigation. The accident is the first ever involving a Boeing 787, the Aviation Safety Network reports. Investigation teams from both US and UK have been sent to assist Indian authorities.
The Tata Group, the owner of Air India, announced monetary assistance of ₹10 million (approximately £86,000) to the families of all victims. The company further said it would cover medical expenses for the injured and assist in reconstruction of the destroyed medical college buildings.
India has seen a number of fatal flying accidents throughout the years. A mid-air crash over Delhi in 1996 killed almost 350, and in 2010, an Air India Express plane crashed at Mangalore airport and killed 158 of its 166 passengers.
Experts have urged restraint in jump conclusions, but some suspicions have been made. It is highly unlikely that the plane was overweight or overloaded with fuel," said Dr. Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth. "The plane can fly on one engine, so the most probable explanation for the crash is a double engine failure. The most probable explanation for a double engine failure is a bird strike.
The UK Foreign Office said it is working with Indian authorities to determine facts and provide assistance to affected families. Officials at Gatwick Airport meanwhile are getting a reception centre ready for next of kin of the victims.
Read also| Air India Flights Rerouted Amid Rising Tensions in Iran-Israel Conflict
