All 242 people on board including former Gujarat CM Rupani killed, grief shrouds India

AHMEDABAD: All 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft were reportedly killed in the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Of the passengers, 53 were British nationals. There were 169 Indians, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is among the killed.

Earlier, there were reports of a few injured passengers being shifted to hospital for treatment but the hopes were dashed as not even one person onboard made it back alive from the catastrophic accident.

Vijay Rupani was on his way to meet his daughter in UK when the tragedy happened. The plane crashed above the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad. Five medical students also died in the disaster.

It is reported that this is one of the biggest air crashes that have happened in India. The plane was flown by a highly experienced pilot. The plane was flown by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kunder. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had 8200 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot had 1100 hours of flying experience.

The accident occurred just eight minutes after take-off. The plane took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm and lost contact with air traffic control within a minute. It crashed shortly after. The plane exploded in a ball of fire from a height of 625 feet. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that crashed has many safety features. Special Passenger Hotline Number: 1800 5691 444