Latest news with #DhavalGameti
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270
Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday's plane crash in Ahmedabad. The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members, a 40-year-old British man. Officials have also been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims' identities. Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK. About 100 people gathered outside the High Commission of India in London on Sunday, with many laying candles in memory of those who died in the crash. One community leader said they had been in touch with a family who had flown to India to identify the remains of their loved ones and were waiting in hospital for the results of DNA matching. Many people at the gathering want answers on how and why the incident could have happened, the community leader said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the inquiry into the cause of the crash, helped by teams from the US and UK. On Friday, a black box was found at the site of the crash which India's civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said would "significantly aid the inquiry" into the disaster. Less than 60 seconds after leaving Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the plane lost altitude and crashed into a building that was used as doctors' accommodation at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital. On Saturday, the President of the Junior Doctors' Association of the college, Dr Dhaval Gameti, confirmed the hospital had received the bodies of 270 victims. Of those, 241 are believed to be passengers and crew of Flight AI171. More than thirty victims have also been formally identified using DNA samples provided by relatives. According to data by tracking website, Flightradar24, the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 was 11 years old and had operated 25 flights from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick in the past two years. In response to Thursday's crash, India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered additional safety checks on Air India's Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, describing it as a "preventive measure". India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around 20 minutes walking around the site of the plane crash on Friday. He also visited the hospital to meet some of those injured in the disaster, including the sole plane survivor Vishwashkumar Ramesh, later saying that "the entire nation is praying for their speedy recovery". Air India CEO Campbell Wilson also went to the crash site on Friday and described the visit as "deeply moving". Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash? Newly engaged couple among Air India crash victims Wait for bodies deepens pain of families after Air India crash
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
No clarity yet on identity of 18 Air India crash victims
AHMEDABAD: Days after the horrific AI-171 air crash here, there is still no clear word on the toll and identity of the deceased. While the ill-fated Air India plane had 242 on board, one passenger survived the crash into the campus of the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. On Saturday, the president of the Junior Doctors' Association of the college, Dr Dhaval Gameti, said 270 bodies had been received at the Civil Hospital. However, 272 DNA samples have been collected so far. That figure includes 13 others — nine local residents and four medical students. Who were the 18 other victims (272 - [241 + 13])? There is no clarity.
1News
5 days ago
- General
- 1News
India plane crash death toll climbs to 270 as more bodies found
Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said overnight. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Recovery teams working until late Friday (local time) found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said. Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told The Associated Press the facility had received 270 bodies, adding that the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds. 'He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,' Gameti said Saturday. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable. Some relatives expressed frustration Saturday that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching, and they are expediting the process. 'Where are my children? Did you recover them?' asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight. 'I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions." Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites. 'Give us the body,' the relative insisted. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government says it has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future and 'will not be a substitute to other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Authorities have begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash. Eight of the 34 Dreamliner aircraft in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency.' The government is eagerly awaiting results of the crash investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and all necessary steps will be taken without hesitation, Kinjarapu said. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with 'full force' to extract the data. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the US National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what caused the crash as soon as next week as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape. Investigators likely are looking at whether wing flaps were set correctly, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit, and if the plane's crew correctly logged information about the hot temperature outside and the weight of the fuel and passengers, Guzzetti said. Mistakes in the data could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly, he said. Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Confusion deepens over death toll in Ahmedabad plane crash; officials silent
AHMEDABAD: No official death toll has been declared yet in the AI-171 crash, but a civil hospital doctor on Saturday confirmed receiving 270 bodies. The Air India flight carried 242 passengers—only one, Vishwas, survived. So far, identities of four doctors and nine civilians have been confirmed, while 272 DNA samples have been collected, indicating 18 remain untraced. As the government continues to withhold an official death toll in the Ahmedabad plane crash, discrepancies have begun to emerge. On Saturday, Dr. Dhaval Gameti of Civil Hospital revealed to the media that 270 bodies had been Recived — a figure that sharply contrasts with the official silence. This raises serious questions, considering the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carried 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian. Adding to the toll, at least 13 local residents, including four medical students, died when the aircraft came down in a densely populated area of Ahmedabad.
The Star
5 days ago
- General
- The Star
Air India crash: Grief turns into anger as families continue agonising wait for bodies
AHMEDABAD, India (The Straits Times/ANN): Anger has been mounting among family members of passengers on board the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad, as they face an agonising wait for the bodies of their loved ones. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board were killed in the June 12 crash, with an additional unconfirmed number of fatalities on the ground. Flight AI171, operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had rammed into a hostel mess in the western Indian city's Byramjee Jeejeebhoy (BJ) Medical College and Civil Hospital before erupting into a large ball of fire. Dr Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors' Association at the BJ Medical College, told reporters on June 14 that 270 bodies had been recovered from the crash site, with more bodies potentially still stuck under rubble. One body, believed to be that of an air hostess, was retrieved from the site on June 14. Thirty-two injured people from the site were also admitted to the Civil Hospital, with some still in critical condition. Only eight bodies – those that were identified visually – have been handed over to family members, with the rest to be released after DNA matches, which doctors said could take up to 72 hours. But the patience of family members is wearing thin, with grief beginning to give way to rage as some question the agonising wait marked by a lack of official and regular communication from the authorities to the victims' families and media. Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on the flight with his wife and two children, said his relatives had already turned in their DNA samples but he had yet to receive any clear information on the state of the bodies of his loved ones. Mumbai-resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on board the flight with his wife and two children, said he is worried about the condition of their bodies currently in storage at the mortuary in Civil Hospital. Mumbai resident Rafiq Abdul Aziz Memon, whose nephew was on board the flight with his wife and two children, said he is worried about the condition of their bodies currently in storage at the mortuary in Civil Hospital. -- ST PHOTO: DEBARSHI DASGUPTA 'In two days, all I have been hearing is 72 hours, 72 hours. When will these 72 hours end, nobody knows. They will then bring up some other excuse after 72 hours,' an angry and distressed Mr Memon told reporters outside BJ Medical College. 'Stop this DNA game… We want to see them (the bodies) in whatever condition they are in, we can stomach it. They were our children.' Fearing that the bodies may have already started decomposing, he demanded that the local authorities release a video to prove that the bodies are safe. 'Four days later, if you give us something that stinks, will our heart be able to bear it?... Tell us that the bodies of our loved ones are safe, that they are not decomposing.' Dr Rakesh S. Joshi, medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, where the bodies have been stored in a mortuary, told The Straits Times that matching the DNA samples from victims' bodies with those from their family members is taking longer than usual because many of the bodies were badly burned and mutilated. In such cases, intact DNA has to be extracted from hard remains such as bones or teeth. 'It (also) takes time for all relatives to come from a different place other than the local city,' he said, noting that his team had the DNA collection process set up in three to four hours after the crash and are working '24/7' to conclude it. Dr Joshi added that positive matches have already begun coming in. The first reportedly DNA-matched body was later released by the hospital late on the afternoon of June 14, with media access to the mortuary cut off. ddanger - A sitting area for relatives of passengers killed in the Air India AI171 crash at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Family members of victims have complained about the lack of support and information for them. Also present at the Civil Hospital on June 14 was Anil Kumar Patel, 58, who works as a security supervisor in Ahmedabad. His 30-year-old son, who worked for Amazon in London, was here with his wife for her medical treatment and both were killed in the crash. Patel said he had so far not received any help from Air India or the Ahmedabad district administration following the tragedy. 'No one has called, nothing,' he said. Family members of victims have criticised the way they have been dealt with by the authorities since the tragedy, as they were often left to fend for themselves, with little or no information going their way. Patel was seated next to the post-mortem room, where a small open area with a makeshift marquee and a broken bench had been designated for relatives of victims of the crash. He has spent most of the past two days waiting at the Civil Hospital for some news, despite the humid, oppressive heat in Ahmedabad. Asked why he continues to be here, he said, breaking down: 'Just so that I can get both their dead bodies. What else can I expect?' Some help may be finally on its way. The Ahmedabad district administration released a list of 39 victims who were residents of areas under its jurisdiction on the night of June 13. Each family has been assigned an official who has been asked to help family members, from the process of DNA collection to funeral rites. On that list, the fourth and 38th names were that of Mr Patel's daughter-in-law Pooja Harshit Patel and his son Harshit Patel. 'I just hope we get their bodies soon,' he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
