Investigators in India have recovered the black box flight recorder from the wreckage of Air India flight 171, which crashed into a densely populated residential area in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, killing at least 265 people. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it went down shortly after takeoff.
The crash occurred around midday, moments after the plane issued a mayday call and climbed only about 100 metres (330 feet) from the runway. Eyewitnesses described scenes of devastation as the aircraft’s tail section crashed into the second floor of a medical hostel near the airport, while the nose struck a canteen building where students were eating lunch.
Authorities reported that the death toll included 242 people on board, passengers and crew, and at least 24 on the ground. Officials warned the final toll may rise as DNA identification of body parts continues. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai confirmed 265 bodies had been recovered.
The sole known survivor, 28-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen, described the moment of impact from his hospital bed. “Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,” he said in an interview with India’s state broadcaster DD News.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and later met with Ramesh in the hospital, a moment captured and released by the Prime Minister’s media team.
Air India confirmed that the flight carried 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 crew members. The airline’s parent company, Tata Group, has pledged 10 million rupees ($117,000) in compensation for the families of each deceased victim and offered to cover medical costs for the injured.
Grieving families gathered at an emergency response centre in Ahmedabad to provide DNA samples. Among them was Ashfaque Nanabawa, who said his cousin Akeel, along with his wife and young daughter, had been on the plane. “He called us and said, ‘I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay.’ That was his last call,” he said.
Eyewitnesses and volunteer rescuers described horrific scenes. Bharat Solanki, who rushed from a nearby fuel station, said, “The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal.” A doctor residing in the affected building said part of the aircraft slammed into quarters where medical professionals lived with their families.
Boeing has acknowledged the incident and stated it is cooperating with Air India. The crash marks the first major incident involving a 787 Dreamliner.
The United States and United Kingdom have dispatched investigators to assist Indian authorities.
Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister, confirmed that the official death count will be finalized only after the completion of DNA testing, including samples from relatives living abroad.
Experts have urged caution in speculating on the cause. Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, suggested that a double engine failure, possibly due to a bird strike, was the most likely explanation, given that such aircraft are designed to continue flight on one engine.
The crash has cast a shadow over India’s rapidly expanding aviation sector. The country has become the world’s fourth-largest air travel market, with projections to enter the top three within a decade.
A candlelight vigil was held in Siliguri on Thursday evening in memory of the victims.
