In the hours since an Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, carrying 242 people, officials have been sharing information on the casualties.
More information is emerging about the deadly plane crash in India.
In the hours since an Air India flight carrying 242 people bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff in the city of Ahmedabad on June 12, officials have shared that one passenger has been miraculously found alive.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G. S. Malik, per ANI News, said, “The police found one survivor in seat 11A. He has been in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet.”
The passenger in seat 11A has been identified as British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh by local outlets. NBC News confirmed a passenger with that name was seated in 11A, cross-checking with the flight’s manifest, and family members of Ramesh confirmed to Sky News he survived. Ramesh had been visiting family in India with his brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh, per Hindustan Times, who at this time has not been located.
Hindustan Times also reported that a 40-year-old man bearing the same name as the reported survivor had a boarding pass for the flight and received “impact injuries” to his chest, eyes and feet. He reportedly told the outlet, “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
Earlier in the day, Malik shared the presumed casualties, telling the Associated Press, “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.”
Noting the death toll would include those aboard the plane as well as citizens on the ground at the time the plane crashed, Malik noted, “Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained.”
Police Chief Kanan Desai told Reuters earlier in the day that at least 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site, and there had been no reports of survivors being found. According to the outlet, citing a senior police official, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner landed on top of a doctor’s hostel.
In addition to 12 crew members, the Air India flight carried 230 passengers of which 160 were Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one was Canadian and seven were from Portugal, Air India confirmed in a statement following the tragedy.
According to NBC News, Flightradar24 reported losing the flight’s signal mere seconds after takeoff.
Following the crash, Tata Group—which acquired Air India in 2022—shared its condolences over the accident, writing on X, “No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment.”
The organization also pledged to provide the victims’ families with a monetary sum totaling about $116,834 and cover the medical expenses of all the injured to “ensure that they receive all necessary care and support.” Tata Group also pledged to provide support in the rebuilding of the B J Medical’s hostel at the site of the crash.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu likewise shared his commitment to ensuring emergency services “take swift and coordinated action.”
“Rescue teams have been mobilised,” he added on X, “and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
(NBC News and E! News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Source: www.eonline.com