Ahmedabad: The death toll in the London-bound Air India flight crash rose to 274 on Saturday after rescue teams recovered more bodies on Friday. Among the deceased were 241 passengers and crew onboard the ill-fated plane and people on the ground, including medical students, when the aircraft crashed into the of BJ Medical College campus and burst into a ball of fire as it was carrying a lot of fuel for the long-haul flight.
At the time of the crash, there were 242 people onboard the plane. Out of the total people on the plane, 230 were passengers, 10 were cabin crew members and two pilots. However, only one person survived the crash. Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani also lost his life in the crash.
As per Air India, the aircraft was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.
Earlier on Friday, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) confirmed the recovery of the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) commonly referred to as the black box, from the rooftop of a building near the crash site. The AAIB has launched a comprehensive investigation, with over 40 Gujarat State Government personnel supporting the Ministry's ground teams.
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The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced Line Training Captain with 8,200 flight hours, and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 flight hours. The aircraft departed from Runway 23 at 13:39 local time and issued a Mayday distress call to Air Traffic Control before all communications were lost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and met with survivors undergoing treatment at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
