Air India Boeing crash: Deaths on ground climb to 33; A scene in the mess speaks more |
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
|
AHMEDABAD, June 14: The death toll from the tragic crash of Air India's Ahmedabad-London
flight AI171 continues to rise, with officials confirming 274 fatalities on
Saturday as the ground toll is rising.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, carrying 242 passengers
and crew, crashed onto the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after
takeoff on Thursday afternoon killing all on board except a British-Indian passenger
and many people on the ground in the hostel and compound.
While 241 on the plane died on the spot, the casualties on the ground are still
climbing with more people succumbing to burns and injuries in the hospital.
The ground toll on Saturday morning rose to 33 deaths.
The 33 victims were individuals present in the medical college hostel, campus
and premises at the time of the crash, explosion and fire, including doctors,
students, hospital staff and others.
The wreckage of the mess shows abandoned food plates in the dining area. It
was lunch time, almost getting over, some ran for life, some others were caught
in the crashing debris.
Investigators have retrieved the black box, which contains the Flight Data
Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), crucial for determining the
cause of the crash. The device was found on the rooftop of the students’ hostel
which was hit by the plane's tail.
Investigation, identification
Meanwhile, 319 body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to
determine the identities.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification
efforts challenging.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has taken charge of the probe,
collecting evidence. The black box data will hold the key to understanding what
led to the disaster.
Foul play not ruled out
Witnesses said the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into the hostel building
and campus, causing widespread destruction.
While technical failure remains a possibility, authorities have not ruled out
foul play like terror attack.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has visited the site, though the primary
focus remains on technical and human error.
Compensation
Air India’s parent company, Tata Group, has pledged Rs 1 cr in compensation
to the families of those killed in the crash. The airline has also deployed
100 caregivers and 40 engineering staff to Ahmedabad to assist grieving families
and support local authorities.
The Railways was deploying Vande Bharat trains to transport stranded passengers
following the suspension of flight operations at Ahmedabad airport.
Causes of crash
Aviation experts speculate that hydraulic failure, flaps non-deployment, extended
landing gear, loss of thrust, engine failure, fuel contamination/blockage, hot
weather/thin air impact on heavily loaded long-haul aircraft in climbing, lack
of lift, bird hit - although for birds to fly around at noon at approx 45 deg
C is uncommon, tilting right wing as seen in video, exhaust not matching engine
power, nose position, automated instrumentation failure, lack of maintenance
or terrorist attack as a bang is corroborated by the survivor etc. may have
contributed to the crash.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered inspection of all Boeing 787 Dreamliner
fleet to ensure future safety.
|
|
|
|
|
SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
|
Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
| |
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
|
|
UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
|
|
What caused Air India Boeing 787 crash? Some questions, some answers | |
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
|
|
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
|
|
Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
|
|
Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
| |
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
|
|
48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
| |
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
|
|
Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
|
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
|
|
Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
|
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
|
|
Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
|
|
All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
| |
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
|
|
|
|
|
Previous Files
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
|
Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Gujarat
Puducherry
|
|
|
|
Neighbours Calling
Bhutan
Nepal
Malaysia
Dubai
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Gujarat
Puducherry
|
|
|