Air India plane mishap: PM Modi visits crash site, assesses ground situation in Ahmedabad
Jun 13, 2025
AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad and reviewed the ground situation, a day after the AI-171 flight bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad International Airport here.
The Prime Minster arrived in the city this morning and proceeded to site where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed.
He was briefed by officials on the situation.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and other officials accompanied PM Modi during his visit.
PM Modi then proceeded to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to meet with those injured in the mishap.
Upon his arrival in the city today, PM Modi was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Ministers Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and CR Paatil.
There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane. Miraculously, one person, a British national of Indian origin, survived the crash, airline authorities said.
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.
