Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches AI-171 crash site in Ahmedabad
Jun 13, 2025
AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning arrived at the site of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad amid heavy security presence in the area.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu also accompanied Prime Minister Modi.
The Air India flight AI 171 bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport a day ago. The airlines said 241 people on board the aircraft were killed in the mishap.
Upon his arrival in the city today, PM Modi was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, and Union Minister CR Paatil.
The AI flight, which crashed, 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.
