Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Ahmedabad to take stock of Air India plane crash

Jun 13, 2025

AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Ahmedabad airport on Friday morning and is scheduled to visit the crash site of the Air India flight AI171, hours after the incident claimed the lives of 241 people, including 12 crew members.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Union Minister CR Paatil were present at the domestic terminal of Ahmedabad airport to receive Prime Minister Modi.

The AI flight, which was operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12, carried 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.

Miraculously, one person survived the deadly crash, the airline authorities said, adding that the survivor was a British national of Indian origin.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC.

Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. An official said heavy black smoke was coming from the accident site.