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PM Modi visits Air India crash site, meets injured at Ahmedabad hospital
Public Lokpal
June 13, 2025
PM Modi visits Air India crash site, meets injured at Ahmedabad hospital
Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the site of the Air India AI 171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, in which 265 people lost their lives.
The prime minister arrived at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport here and drove straight to the crash site in the Meghaninagar area, officials said.
The prime minister then proceeded to the city's civil hospital to meet those injured in mishap. He also met Vishwashkumar Ramesh, the only passenger to miraculously survive the crash that took place a day ago.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Union MoS Murlidhar Mohol accompanied the prime minister during his visit.
A day earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Naidu visited the crash site to assess the situation. Naidu said the government has set up a high-level committee to probe the incident.
Meanwhile, the operation to clear the site of the crash continued overnight and is in the last stages, an official said on Friday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said the operation to clear the site continued overnight, and some debris still needed to be removed. "Bodies were charred beyond recognition," she said.
Desai had earlier said 265 bodies were sent to the city civil hospital.
Meanwhile, rescuers are yet to locate the black box of the Air India flight, with investigators saying the flight and cockpit recorders are key to understanding the cause.
Often painted bright orange for visibility, the black box comprises the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which capture key technical information and pilot communications before a crash.
Notablt, the Air India flight AI 171 -- a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- with 242 people on board, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, crashed into a medical college complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
One person survived the tragedy, while 241 on board, including 168 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, were killed.
The aircraft could be seen from afar, losing altitude rapidly and crashing in a ball of fire that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.
Four MBBS students and a doctor's wife were among those killed at the complex of BJ Medical College outside the airport perimeter.
Agencies
