Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around 20 minutes at the site of the plane crash. BBC says, he did not speak to reporters afterwards. He was accompanied by federal Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and other senior officials.
Indian Authorities have launched an investigation into one of India’s worst aviation disasters, a day after a London-bound Air India flight crashed in a residential neighborhood in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board. The crash occurred just minutes after the aircraft took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday. The plane plummeted into a building housing a medical college hostel, bursting into flames and killing several students on the ground. Thick black smoke rose over the densely populated area, located in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat and the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Friday, Prime Minister Modi visited the crash site and met with emergency personnel and survivors. “We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad,” Modi said in a statement on social media.
“The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.”
Officials reported that most of the victims’ bodies were charred beyond recognition. Investigators are still working to locate and recover the plane’s black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — to determine the cause of the crash.
The sole survivor, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, was seen in television footage meeting Prime Minister Modi at a local government hospital. Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who treated the survivor, said Ramesh sustained multiple injuries but is expected to recover. “He was disoriented with injuries all over his body, but he seems to be out of danger.”
Another attending physician reported that Ramesh recounted how the plane began descending shortly after takeoff, suddenly split in two, and ejected him just before a loud explosion. As rescue and recovery efforts continued on Friday, the government vowed a thorough investigation into the crash, which has shocked the nation and drawn international attention.