DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA ● POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 230PASSENGERS,12CREWMEMBERS; MAYDAYDISTRESSCALLSOONAFTER PRESIDENT,V-P,PMLEADNATIONIN A-Iplanewith242crashes,1survivor pilot had 8,200 hours of flying experience take-off at 1.39 pm; search on for black box expressing grief, shock as condolences pour in London-bound flight crashes after takeoff from Ahmedabad; 24 killed on ground First Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash Airport Onboard 242people Last signal Signallostat 625feet About 1 mile 475 Damaged buildings feet/minute EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, NEW DELHI, JUNE 12 AHMEDABAD AIR CRASH THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Apilotsettoretire,ana Plane crash puts others: Crewthatwent ttendantwhoinspired Boeing’s safety downwithDreamliner record under SIDDHANT KONDUSKAR AND DEEPAK JOSHI MUMBAI, JUNE 13 A PILOT months away from retirement, aflight attendant with more than 11 years of experience, two crew members who hadjoined Air India recently and a young flight attendant from Panvel who had become a source of inspiration for countless young girls in her village were among the 12-member crew that went down with the Air India Dreamliner. was onits way to London.As per the preliminary investigation, the flight was heavily loaded with fuel for the long-distance flight,whichmade theblast even more powerful. The Directorate GeneralofCivilAviation(DGCA) has stated that an investigation is being conducted. afternoon.We weretoldshewas on the ill-fated flight. We are all praying," a relative said. ROSHNI RAJENDRA SONGHARE, CREW MEMBER Roshni DEEPAK fresh scrutiny THE NEW YORK TIMES PAST INCIDENTS INVOLVING 787 Rajendra PATHAK, THE CRASH of a Boeing 787 Songhare, Dreamliner CREW passenger jet in 27, was western MEMBER IndiaonThursday is reone of the newing JULY 2013: An empty Deepak scrutiny of the comcrew Ethiopian Airlines 787 Pathak, a pany’ssafety recordafterayearsmembers long quality caught fire on the Badlapurcrisis. on board ground at Heathrow CAPTAIN SUMEET based Air An Air India passenger plane the ill- carrying airport in an incident SABHARWAL, PILOT India flight 242 passengers and fated Air crewmembersthat later linked to a shortCAPTAIN SUMEET Sabharwal, attendant, was one of the crew was headed members on the India circuit in an Emergency 60, was the senior-most to London crashed in crew Ahmedabad-London crashed western flight that India on Locator Transmitter. member on board the flight. A Thursday, the airline Air India committed crashedin said on social airline employee for flight that crashed shortly media. Air India after more than 11 soon after said 242 2013: Regulators takeoff fromAhmedabad. years, Deepak passengers and crew Along never missed takeoff. A temporarily grounded calling home beserving pilot, Sabharwal resident of Madhabi Bungalow were onboardtheplane when it had fore any flight, the global 787 fleet he did the same been living in Jalvayu area on Rajaji Path in Dombivili, crashed. These include 169 Vihar in on Thursday. following the Powai with his 90-year-old Indians, 53 British, Songhare’s parents and faseven “He called us like he always overheating of lithium brother Portuguese ther.Accordingtoneighbours,he The sister of Captain Summet and a Canadian. rushed toMumbai airport does, just before he was batteries on two when There was no was just a few months Sabharwal, who was leaving. in Mumbai immediate inforthey got the news. commanding the plane, away We neverthought on Wednesday. Sankhadeep Japanese planes in at his residence from retirement and itcouldbe the Banerjee Songhare, who recently mation about survivors. had last," a family member Tokyo and Boston, planned to spend more said. Boeing 787 Dreamliner joined Air India, wason time at The family had hopes resulting in design duty as a planes have home with his aging father. in the CREW MEMBER experienced operaflight attendant, said initial moments after a relative, tional problems changes to better cated and professional “Hewas very reserved, the crash. Saineeta adding that it was her in the past with disciChakravarty, 35, fondly with her dreams in contain the risk of “dream” passengers plined.We usedtoseehimcome "His phone was still ringing… called the aviation sec- to whatever he knew. "She onboard, resultingin become an air hostess. 'Pinky' by neighbours and worked tor despite we thought maybehewas thermal runaway. coming from a humand go in uniform often, hardtoreach whereshewas. safe," friends, was one but he She lived with her parents injuries. But there has not been It's ble background. of the ten cabin heartbreaking," wasavery reservedperson,”said they said, not speculating until crew afatalityrecordedin previous he added. who were on confirmation camefrom inHavingstudiedinTSRahman and brother in the New Umiya cidents MARCH 2024: 50were a neighbour from Jalvayu the au- India Dreamliner. board the Air involving theBoeing 787 KrupaSocietyin Dombivali Vihar. thorities. Chakravarty MAITHILI Vidyalaya till Class XII, hurt when a 787 East. Dreamlineraircraft, Sabharwal leaves behind she en- Her relatives MORESHWAR rolled was a Juhu Koliwada accordingto his described her as a the Deepak's relatives spoke resident operated by LATAM in an aviation course and oldersister, who resides Aviation Safety Network of whohadrecentlyjoinedAirIndia PATIL, CREW MEMBER inDelhi. him as duty gotthefull backingof herfamily “bright and intelligent” young database. Airlines dropped in bound and disciHer two sons have alsotaken A 24-year-old flight after havingworked withGo atten- despitefinancialwoes,theysaid. woman, whoachieved what up mid-flight from Sydney Air. dant from Nhava she thesameprofession andbothare plined, a person who worked “We are aware of initial aimed for once she finished A childhood friend, rededicatedly at his job She landed a job at Air toAuckland. Nicky Panvel was among village in her ports and are working commercial pilots.His and never D'Souza, India education. In those feared and had deathis said, "We grew up toto gather her neighbour- more Investigators focused become a source of inshock, not just to his family, a lost touch. The tragedy has gether. dead in the plane information,” Boeing on hood, her Air India uniform crash in spiration She attended Manekji but brought the Pathak said an involuntary forward for countless young was in a statement. also to the residential Ahmedabad on Thursday family into CooperSchool a matter of pride. commu- greatsorrow,aswellas after- girls in Nhava andlaterMithibai noon. movement in the pilot nity inPowaiwhere he village and bethelarger College. Even Thecrash comes as had lived community She also had a sizeable after she shifted, I yond, they added. "She seat. in Badlapur that fol- still wending throughBoeingis for many years. —REUTERS Villagers gathered wouldcatch a glimpse at the pride.Her achievementswas our lowingonInstagram,54,000fola yearsknew him as a gentle of her oc- house of Captain Sabharwal was person to casionally long legal gaveus lowers, and Maithili Moreshwar co- count on. in her uniform." regularly posted crashes saga over two deadly immense joy. The news piloting theDreamliner of the snippets from of its 737 Max plane in Although they had shifted Patil after news of the tragedy accident with his her life there. blew open on a Boeing has numbed all of us," first officer, Clive Kundar, started dominating news 2018 and 2019 that 737 Max apart over which SAINEETA As soon as it became headCHAKRAVARTY, Saineeta the years, Nicky said lines, withmostrecollectingthe a neighbour said of Maithili, the clear people. The companykilled 346 9duringanAlaskaAirlinesflight, that Roshni was on duty reached a exposing had always been dedieldest of four siblings. on the deal with passengers to forceful hard work she put in the to pursue Justice winds. Boeing "She left for work yesterday Air India flight, Dombivili MLA Department told regulators in last month, which and stateBJP president August of that year it Ravindra would spare would rethe company from takingcriminalresponsibilityfor design the panels to better detect any malfunctions. the crashes. In April 2024, the Federal As part of the deal, Boeing Aviation Administration would still have to admit said it The Boeing 787 Dreamliner to ob- was investigating is one of the most advanced structing federal oversight, claims made jets in service and has pay by a Boeing engineer safety record. The 787-8, a fine, contributetoafundfor a generally strong who said involved in the crash, the is the smallest of three familiesof thevictimsandinvest that sections of the fuselage of variants in safety and quality programs. the 787 Dreamliner, the model involved in the crash in Thedeal,which must still India on passenger capacity be ap- Thursday, were improperly fasproved by a judge, was range opposed tened together and could break by many of the families 787s sold, of the apart midflight after thousands crash victims. PRESS.COM including 47 The airplane manufacturer of trips. WWW.INDIANEX Boeing saidatthetimeit to Air India hasfaced otherprominentsafety had done extensive testing issues. In January 2024, on the a hole Dreamliner and “determined ‘Most were still strapped in’: First responders recount scenes of horror 13, 2025 BOEING 787-8: AMONG THE MOSTADVANCED 248 AHMEDABAD THE INDIAN EXPRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE Outside the civil hospital’s 13,530 km PASSENGER JETS 2,500 Dabhi PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ts in Deadliest acciden n history Indian aviatio As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabadat1339 AHMEDABAD, JUNE 12 IST(0809UTC) from Runway23. It gaveaMAYDAYCalltoATC,but SOON AFTER the takeoff, the pi- thereafter noresponsewasgiven lot of ill-fated Air India aircraft by the aircraft to the calls made gave a Mayday call to the by Ahmedabad airtrafficcontroller. 440 ATC, according to the DGCA flight However, Indian Airlines re- statement. no MAY31, 1973, thereafter Palam Airport. aircraft immediately The afINDIAN ON sponse was given by the aircraft ter Tail fin its approachto departure from Runway crashed during made WRECKAGE OF to the callsencountered severeweather 23 by ATC, avia- fellthe AIRLINES AIR INDIA AI 1 just short of on the ground outside the 71 Boeing 737-200 tion regulator DGCA said FLIGHT 440 and struck high-tension wires in a airport perimeter, statement. on board, 48died,including it said adding TWIN-ENGINED: Two (1973) 65 types of Ataround Kumaramangalam. runway. Of the 2 pm, the London- heavy black smoke was seen 20% GREATER fuel efficiency engine, supplied by GE coming from the accident Aerospace or bound Air India production. politician Mohan plane carrying through the use of durable, site. Rolls-Royce. The engines The Boeing aircraft, whichcould on the 242 passengers and lightweight composite pascrashed plane were supplied crew be seen losing materials and thedetailsof INDIA by GE. altitude quickly, crashed moments after more electrical systems. sons.Theseare ■ The 787 also pioneered a new way taking crashed in Meghaninagar Air India AIR the Air India 855 boardbuilding planes, that 17 resioff fromthe Ahmedabad of area 2011 The year the first sengers on 1, 1978, Dubai-bound into the FLIGHT airport. near the airport. of all of the outsourcing 787 entered Yadav confirmed ON JANUARY Several casualties are lukasofthedis747, plunged feared. much of the structure ■ Size, range, efficiency service just got back to Anand flight... Relatives have given and 855, a Boeing off from (1978) Jun 12, 2025, made it ideal dentsofvariousta “On nthecrash. and had The after taking components and assembling Flight Air India for opening new routes, shortly aircraft was under the B787 Aircraft at about the crash above passengers bypassing the The Arabian Sea command of Captdisaster samples VT-ANB while opto trict arefearedkilledi pieces in the US. But the when he learnt hubs served hmadabadres2014 The year the aircraft Sumeet all 213 on board. We their DNA shake-up led around to return involved TheseincludeMe by jumbos such as the into the flight to problems in civil hospital... the supply Mumbai, killing Sabharwal with First Officer erating flight AI-171 from and turned Boeing 747 and Airbus (20);Thasraresthe accident was delivered her. in 101 seconds chain and to find A380 Ahmedabad (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) identRudraPatel Clive Indicator led occurred only Kundar, DGCA Boeing later acknowledged Vohra helping drive both jets (6), and not making any statements has Ahmedabad Source: Reuters, Boeing has not been by out of are it had a faulty Attitude Director thesaid. Capt crashedimmediatelyafter Jiya Parvez she aircraft’s Sumeet Sabharwal is a gone confirmed takeat idents when until too far with outsourcing. Nadiad resiUnfortunately, LTC with to misinterpret orientation. off from Ahmedabad. about death are devastated Vahora (32); 8200 hours of experience. the captain There authority.” (75) and traced and we her... Parvez The were 242 persons the competent Mahadev Pawar (26), a of having lost co-pilot had 1100 hours Her dents the thought of flying aircraft consisting on board the ),aswellasHina Bhavik Maheshwari was experience. young children. wifeAshaben(65 identsPrashant 1988, of 2 pilots and Vadodara who She has two 10 cabin crew,” DGCA aytoIndia.Her OCTOBER 19, resident of said inthe Patel;Kathalalres for the last couPatel (29); VISIBILITY ON husbandisonhisw VADODARA, AhmedabadFireand Emergency Part of wing ANAND, 19 FROM Services (AFES) along with GUJARAT’S the City Police LEAST 33 FROM reached the site. SHOWS AT “ALMOST 70% PASSENGERS were found in of the passengers Pilot gave Mayday call to Ahmedabad ATC before crash: DGCA AIR CRASH acationto sistersgoing onv Among dead, two ning afterdroppingdaughter London,momretur post-mortem room. Brendan BRENDAN DABHI AHMEDABAD, JUNE 13 17 FROM KHEDA Landing gear Thought she could find work try Relatives DNA samples. edthatatleast daughter her leaves to in Anand, said and give their “Our team is at to drop off her flightAI-171showfrom Gujarat’s ing the UK. from Uttarsandaway back after come to come back were — her first to Yadav said, her 33 of them Bhavna and India and was back.Ourheart 19 from inAhmedabad. she was on Amit Rana, for treatall the civil hospital Anand district, said, “My pashortlytotakeher come to India contact with 17 from Kheda. family, especially has two Anandi’s nephew, had taken having We are in close of affected perVadodara, and goes out to the and that she a distraught aunt, Bhavna, to visit ment children in the UK. InAnanddistrict, Rana ternal the little daughter.” mitPrakash familymembers young thatBhavna for two months anPatel,had had leave Both my paternal aunts family recalled KhedaCollectorA “Herbrother,Paw Anandi Rana and her sister their London. the flight. Our family gonetodropher off attheairport forward to on to been looking tion in London, were are in Ahmedabad two-monthvaca two children members where Bhavna’s Gujarat business ly leaders, fami d members kille in Manipur: Father of crew no stay strong, and she showed transfixed, other the wails of reaction to around her. grieving relatives the runway, member skidding onto CHARKHI DADRI MID-AIR COLLISION (1996) Arvind Yadav/Express 1996, 349 people ONNOV 12, what became were killed in aviation devastating India’s most Flight 763, a disaster. Saudia Kazakhstan Boeing 747, and 1907, an Ilyushin Airlines Flight near Il-76, collidedmid-air in Haryana. The Charkhi Dadri result of a comaccident wasthe and the failure munication below Kazakh crewdescending altitude. their assigned India introduced Following the, safety meassignificant aviation mandating the ures, including TCAS on all cominstallation of mercial aircraft. archive intoa ALLIANCE GHT7412crashed AIR FLIGHT ileattemptALLIANCEAIRFLI 7412 (2000) dareainPatnawh denselypopulate eing737-200experienceda improper ingtoland.TheBo edueto thereported ple stallatlowaltitud proach.Sixtypeo handling duringthefinalap veon theground. were killed,includingfi RITU SHARMA 12 JUNE AHMEDABAD, of the Nanda THREE members Cargo founder of family — Pramukh Pravesh Motors Group, Pramukh Neha Nanda his wife younger son their Nanda and Nanda, were Air Prayash Pramukh London-bound onboard the which crashed India flight AI171 Meghaninagar viral on photo went after the in Ahmedabad’s inutesaftertak- Her soon social media from areaThursdaym incident. Apart ing off. of Pramukh The family in a key figure Pravesh Nanda, and transport and transional in Gujarat’s automobile known in in theautomobile and well sectors. Presentlyoperat and port sectors circles, were Gujarat, Punjab runs the state’s business to attend the Delhi, Cargo Motors 30 heading to London elder son Rajasthan, outlets and of their over 70 sales convocation scheduled on workshops. a Amin, the Prayas, whichwas Subhashchandr also June 16. Pumps was not received founder of Lubi fated “So far, we have Londonontheill-comon them, whatto the anyinformation is in bits and onwayto Sources close that ever is coming clueless like flight. confirmed are the pany have pieces. We ra was on aying and waitby on Subhashchand everyoneelse,pr accompanied concrete news flight and was ing for some f thefamily,A Vikram Gujral, the passengers,” Motors and a femalemembero giveanydetails. Cargo fa- Aminbutdidnot a prominent director of Lubi Pumps, uncle of Pramukh's The maternal diversified into Nanda, told name, has now including ther Pravesh and several industries Indian Express. EV solutions founded in 1959, valves, solar, After it was een a leading AIR INDIA EXPRESS (2010) FLIGHT 812 Flight 812 AIR INDIA EXPRESS landrunwaywhile overshot the International ing at Mangaluru coming Airport. Boeing737-800, a gorge plunged into fromDubai, runwayand beyondthe tabletop killing 158.It burst into flames, scrutinyto brought increased airports. India’s tabletop INDIA EXPRESS of the Boeing The wreckage lies at the 787-8 Dreamliner of its part site, showing VT-ANB. The — registration 787the Boeing wreckage of lies at the site, 8 Dreamliner of its showing part VT-ANB. The — registration 787the Boeing wreckage of lies at the site, eamliner Flight AIR (2020) AIR INDIA EXPRESSpart of FLIGHT 1344 as 1344, operating repatriathe Vande Bharat off the skidded tion mission, landing at the runway while Airport Kozhikode (Calicut) Amid 2020. on August 7, aircraft overheavy rain, the tabletop runshot the wet into a valley way, plunged two. Of the 190 and split into including two on board, 21, lives. pilots, lost their Source: PTI on couple were Maharashtra to meet son way to London PAGES 8-9 Videograbs show the London-bound Air India plane crashing moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday. PTI WALKS AWAY FROM WRECK TO AMBULANCE THE NEXT STEPS US to join Bureau probe into world’s first fatal crash of Boeing 787 The ‘11A’ miracle: Don’t know how I am alive, survivor tells brother He said “we have news of one passenger surviving, I have just met him”. There were 24 casualties on the ground too because the aircraft went down on the premises of the BJ Medical College in the densely-populated Meghaninagararea,shortlyafterit took off at 1.39 pm from Runway 23oftheSardarVallabhbhaiPatel International Airport. At least five persons, including four medical students, were killed when the plane crashed intoahostelbuildingof themedical college. Dr Minakshi Parikh, Dean, B J Medical College, said two more students were missing, while another 20 were injured. Five of the injured students were in a “serious” condition, she said. The crash took place shortly after the Captain of the flight put out a Mayday distress call to Air EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, JUNE 12 IN NOTHING short of a miracle, one passenger survived the deadly crash on Thursday. The lonesurvivorhasbeenidentified as Vishwas Kumar Ramesh (39), aBritishnationalof Indianorigin. Ahmedabad Police CommissionerGyanenderSingh Malik confirmed to The Indian Express that a male passenger, seated in '11A', had survived the crash.SourcesintheGujaratgovernment said they only had information of “one survivor as of now”. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who reached Ahmedabad by evening, also confirmed that there was a survivor, and he had met him in hospital. “The good newsisthatonepersonsurvived the crash and I am coming here after meeting him,” he said. “Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, JUNE 12 Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor, at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday. PTI thentheplanecrashed.Itallhappenedsoquickly...WhenIgotup, therewerebodiesallaroundme. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” the HindustanTimesquotedRamesh as saying. According to the report, Ramesh said he had lived in The plane crashed into the residential quarters of BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad. Bhupendra Rana CASUALTIES ON THE GROUND Aircraft crashed into hostel, four medical ON THE PASSENGER MANIFEST Doctor couple, their three kids took selfie students among dead CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 before new start — then tragedy struck PARUL KULSHRESTHA JAIPUR, JUNE 12 Part of tail The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) pressed their seats, most six teams, three each of them had their seatbelts from on...” This was how a first respon- Gandhinagar and Vadodara,into service. Meanwhile, the der, who rushed tothe Central siteof the Industrial Security Force (CISF) Air India plane crash near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International atthe airportas well as theRapid Action Force (RAF) also Airport, described the arrived horrific atthe spot.Accordingtoan scene that he witnessed Army on spokesperson, Relief Thursday afternoon. andRescue columns were dispatched Another first responder from said the Ahmedabad that a few passengers Cantonment of were foundneartheemergencydoors the Southern Command. Thedebrisof theaircraft of the aircraft. was spread over an area It was one of these spanning ADITI RAJA emer- 500 metres. 12 First responders, gency doors through which VADODARA, JUNE 39- though, said that year-old Vishwas Kumar, some pieces a pas- were also found woman return- senger who survived 900 metres the crash, away. Threeof off A 35-YEAR-old POOR thefourbuildings is said to have exited Boeing 737-200, after dropping livinghereover based in London come home (49) and Piyush the burn- that theplane ort. INDIAN AMID Airlines Flight 113, a ing to the UK parentshavebeen painful loss for Patel grandpar- ing aircraft. omUttarsanda; hitwere on fire afof years, had at the Indian AhmedabadAirp is a RupalPatel(44)fr for his wedenPatel ple her daughter ter the right side of the trees approach to AIRLINES 35 years. This friend. 10 days ago When the fire odara,two sisaircraft llcrashedon its Mumbai, struck close family Pravin PatelandRanjanb Darji around ents’houseinVad vacation to andpolicecontrol department sheared through them. The 133 of returningonthei FLIGHT 113 The flight, arriving from usall,”said a on tail room received end (35) was returndingandwas runway, killing Mahuda; Rajnikant left behind (1988) of the aircraft was found ters heading therwoman re-the first messages Nancy Patel short of the off from as well as flight. Bhavik of the crash embedded and crashed from after dropping wife Pushpa, Ajay fated Maheshwari London,andano in the top floor of the around 1.38 pm, many ing to London erwithherhus- and to India for Raj, from Vaso; London. “She said the 135 on board. officers first building, SUKRITA Isha la.Theyhadgot she would not wherethemedical turning aftercoming they were saidthatthey thought heryoungdaughtVadodara. Their Vasuben Vadtal; and PurnimaBARUAH — be An to call the plane students Nancy Patel Ahmedabad’sBav 10. ableincon- for the next few Facebook,” he said. in GUWAHATI, JUNE 12 Her jobkepther onthe Patel from were having lunch in (right) and had medical treatment June days and band’s family Nganthoi hadjoinedAirIndia of the Air been involved inanaccident move Rupal Patel Itisheartbreakthat she married on ap- INDIAN barely Patel from Dakor. ontheairport among the passengers that Sisters premises, possibly the canteen. of Piyush Maheshwari after would be call- in April 2023 when she was crashed while constantly. Nganthoi lived in ing againhands, departed to neighbourssaid,“ AIRLINES to London returning on JuneAIRLINES Flight 605 a Mumbaiwitha groupof Within and solable Isha Firefighters told The Indian Of these, relatives killing 92 due We areunable teenager. It was her first tak- to an aborted India flight news. Her parents 605 to women Canadathree hours, everything from her was her INDIAN HAL Airport, job. look for them... minutes after landing attempt. take-off or Express that the black box this and are ing immediately shifted her gaze 15. That from FLIGHT de- Manipur are based in changed for a family in Manipur dark red mehndi. last call to us,” with “She had The Airbus a hospitalin crashed just had by the adairport. proaching Bengaluru’sjust appearedA320 India. (1990) who work in Air for Ahmedabad samples and Patel for come to terms been retrieved fromthis after reports adorned with he said. her to her first board. the ground short of their DNA have been contacted to India of the Air India as they spotusurged onBut live. Anemployeeof of the 146 on semester exam at DM ingoff fromAhmedabad ahadbeensavfor a miracle.” hit to come crash in passengers of the crash, reached the site ing cranesand other hea plane (44), submit for her... She had only As her family Only three low Karamsad,Bhavn make the visit hoping Ahmedabadher eyes remained hours later College and The list of a clus a golf course.Nganthoi had las of Rupal Patel to look in ministration scended too in Im THE LIST OF BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY IN THE world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade and the first involving a Boeing 787, a London-boundAirIndiapassenger aircraft with 242 people on board crashed in a residential area shortly after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport Thursday afternoon. At least one person, a male passenger, had survived the crash, according to Ahmedabad PoliceCommissionerGyanender Singh Malik. The survivor was identified as Vishwas Kumar Ramesh who was on seat 11A of Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the 230 passengers on board. Air India said the passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The wide-bodied Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bearing the registration VT-ANB, was being operated by a 12-member crew. It was being piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who inspected the crash site,toldreportersthatthedeath toll “would be officially declared bytheauthoritiesconcernedfollowing DNA examination and identificationof thepassengers”. AHMEDABAD AIR CRASH Plane tail UNTIL THURSDAY’S Air India plane crash, Dr Koni Vyas’s family was on the brink of a new life. A pathologist working at a private hospital in Rajasthan’s Banswara,Koni,33,hadresigned from her position last month so she could begin a new life with her husband Pratik Joshi, 36, a London-based doctor, and their three children – five-year-old twinboysPradyutandNakuland 10-year-old daughter Miraya. Before the flight took off, the family clicked a selfie – the beaming parents on one side of the aisle and the children on the other. Minutes later, tragedy would strike. Accordingtofamilymembers inBanswara,afterresigningfrom herjobatthePacificHospital,Koni had been excitedly preparing for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Dr Pratik Joshi, Dr Koni Vyas and their children BRENDAN DABHI AHMEDABAD, JUNE 12 BESIDES THE passengers and crewonboardtheAirIndiaflight, at least 24 people, including four medical students, were killed on the ground, as the plane crashed into the hostel building of the B J MedicalCollegeinMeghaninagar areaof Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. Confirming the deaths at the medical college, Dr Minakshi Parikh,Dean,BJMedicalCollege, said four MBBS students – two from First Year and two from SecondYear–andadoctor'swife were among those dead. She said two more students were missing, while another 20 were injured. Five of the injured students are in a “serious” condition, she said. “Three First Year students and two Second Year students are seriously injured while two Third Year students are not reachable,”shesaid.Alsoamong the missing are three family members of a doctor, she said. The B J Medical College is attached to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE CRASH of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft minutes after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport will be investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), an attached officeof the Ministryof Civil Aviation (MoCA). TheAAIBinvestigatesallserious aircraft accidents that occur in Indian airspace, and is expected to come out with an investigationreport within a year of the accident. Top AAIB ● officialsleftfor Ahmedabad immediately after flight AI-171 with 242 people on board crashed into a residential area near the Ahmedabad airport. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it would be leading a team of US investigators to India to assist the AAIB in the probe. Boeing said it was in touch with Air India regarding AI-171 and stood ready to support the airline. This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 globally. It is also the first crash of a wide-body Indian airliner in four decades, the last being the bombing of Air India Boeing 747 ‘Kanishka’ in June 1985. CivilAviationMinisterKRam Mohan Naidu, in a post on X, said,“Following the tragic incidentinAhmedabad,aformalinvestigation has been initiated by E EXPLAINED Descendedat CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ex-Gujarat CM among dead, was on way to meet family in London PAGE 1 ANCHOR PARIMAL A DABHI & LEENA MISRA AHMEDABAD, JUNE 12 FORMER GUJARAT Chief Minister and senior BJP leader VijayRupaniwasamongthepeople who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. He was 68. A close relative said Rupani was set to fly to London earlier this month to join his wife and daughter there, but postponed his trip by a few days because of theAssemblybypollsonJune19. “He was to travel earlier to Londontomeethisdaughter,but stayed back because of the elections,” said the relative who did not wish to be named. A two-term CM, Rupani was the BJP in-charge for Punjab, where a bypoll is set to be held in Ludhiana West. There are also two bypolls scheduled in Gujarat, one in Visvadar in Junagadh and the other in Kadi in Mehsana. "This is a very sad incident. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. We have lost two-time former chief minister Vijay Rupani in the crash, which is very sad news for the BJP family,"UnionMinisterandstateBJP president C R Paatil told reporters in Ahmedabad. Former Punjab CM and BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh saidRupani's"unwaveringcommitment to public service" would always be remembered, while state BJP president Sunil Jakhar,whoworkedcloselywith Rupani, said the former Gujarat CM was a "humble and compassionate human being and a grassroots leader". “I have had the lucky fortune of being associated with him as he was in charge of Punjab BJP. VIJAY RUPANI 1956-2025 He was a real 'gentleman politician'. Not only Gujarat has lost a greatleaderinhimbutitisaper- sonal loss for me, as I found his gentle and soft demeanour so endearing. His sagacityandsimplicity in public life will be missed," Jakhar said. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also expressed condolences in a post on social media. “For years, he dedicated himself to the service of the people and in strengthening the party in Gujarat and elsewhere. His loss leaves a deep void in public life andI will missmymanyinteractions with him over the years,” he wrote. As news of Rupani being on board the ill-fated flight became public, Rajkot BJP leader KashmiraNathwanireachedthe veteran leader’shomein thecity that he once served as Mayor. “I spoke to Anjaliben (Vijay Rupani's wife) just two days back. She told me that Vijay bhai would be joining them and then shewouldreturnwithhimatthe end of this month,” Nathwani told The Indian Express. Rupani, who hailed from Rajkot in the state’s Saurashtra region, started his political innings with the RSS’s student wing ABVP in 1973. A former stockbroker, he served as the chairman of the SaurashtraKutch Stock Exchange Limited and started his journey in main- Jaipur stream politics in 1987, when he was first elected to the Rajkot Municipal Corporation. He subsequently went on to become the Rajkot Mayor. A committed organisation man, Rupani held several top posts in the state BJP, including generalsecretary,spokesperson, and eventually state president. In 2006, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. In October 2014, the BJP fielded Rupani in an Assembly bypoll from the Rajkot (West) seat after Vajubhai Vala was appointed Karnataka Governor. It was the seat Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contested when he first entered the Gujarat Assembly in 2001. Rupani won the seat, a BJP bastion, easily and was inducted intotheAnandibenPatelgovernment as a Cabinet minister with variousportfolios,includingwater supply, and labour and employment. With his political star rising, Rupani next took charge of the state BJP in February 2016. That August,afterAnandibenPatelresigned as CM in the aftermath of the Patidar quota stir, Rupani succeeded her as CM. The appointment was made following a marathon meeting at the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2