Air India plane crash: Search on for black box, probe underway

A search is underway for the black box of the Ahmedabad-London Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday. At least 265 people were killed after the plane crashed into two hostels near Ahmedabad airport.Earlier today, Air India debunked reports of the recovery of black box and termed them mere speculation. Air India has said that the black box of the crashed flight, which would provide crucial information about what went wrong, has not been recovered.advertisementOn Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the plane crash site and later met the survivors at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
PLANE CRASH: UDPATES SO FAR
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site of the Air India plane accident on Friday along with Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. The PM inspected the crash site along with other officials.
PM wrote on X, "Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy."
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After visiting the crash site, PM Modi headed to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where he met the survivors of the plane crash. PM wrote on X, "Met those injured in the aftermath of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad, including the lone survivor and assured them that we are with them and their families in this tough time. The entire nation is praying for their speedy recovery."
Meanwhile, families of those killed in the plane crash lined up outside Ahmedabad Civil hospital in Ahmedabad and gave their DNA samples to match with the bodies. Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
All 261 passengers, except the one in seat 11A, died in the plane crash. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, was seated in 11A, next to the emergency door on the left side of the aircraft. He said the plane broke apart shortly after take-off, and his seat was flung clear of the wreckage. As a result, he was shielded from the flames that engulfed the rest of the aircraft.
The temperature in and around the crashed Air India plane rose to around 1,000 degrees Celsius, which made the rescue operation extremely difficult, officials told PTI. Even dogs and birds at the site could not escape, they said.
Besides passengers and crew members, students in the medical college's hostels and some others on the premises were among those killed in the tragedy. While police said 265 bodies were brought to the civil hospital, officials were yet to announce the death toll.
advertisementA State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) official said their personnel reached the hostel and residential quarters of doctors and staff members of the BJ Medical College, where the aircraft crashed, between 2 to 2.30 pm. Before that, locals had pulled out some people alive but their teams did not get anybody alive.
Two pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, met a cruel end on Thursday as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner they were in charge of, crashed. Both were operating the Dreamliner to London's Gatwick Airport, carrying 230 passengers and 10 crew members.
So far, five victims have been identified, and their bodies handed over to their families: two each from Gujarat and Rajasthan, and one from Madhya Pradesh.
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