1 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ Flight path 2 Last Signal 3 BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  JUNE 13, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION 1. Initial impact, tail stuck 2. Building & surroundings destroyed; 3. Engine found Crash site Ahmedabad The plane crashed after reaching an altitude of about 825 feet. The tail got stuck on the roof of a medical college hostel as plane burst into flames after hitting the ground. In a nutshell D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad The tragedy is heartbreaking beyond words. I’ve been in touch with ministers and authorities to assist those affected Narendra Modi, PM I let them know that anything we can do -we’ll be over there immediately. But it was a horrific crash. One of the worst in aviation history Donald Trump, US President Difficult day for all of us. Now focused entirely on needs of our passengers, crew members, their families Campbell Wilson, CEO, Air India It is heartbreaking to know that precious lives have been lost in this tragic incident. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families Mohan Charan Majhi, CM, Odisha P ROBABLY among the worst disasters in India’s aviation history an Air India , Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, crashed just minutes after takeoff, leaving at least 290 people feared dead on Thursday afternoon. The aircraft, carrying 242 people — 230 passengers and 12 crew — went down in the densely populated Meghaninagar area near the Forensic Cross Road shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.38 pm. The crash occurred at around 2 pm, and within moments huge flames engulfed residential buildings and commercial structures near the impact zone. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) set up a probe team. Among the passengers on board were 169 Indians, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. He was reportedly going to London to meet his daughter. Authorities initially feared there were no survivors. “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Commissioner GS Malik told reporters immediately after the crash. However, in the evening, he confirmed that one passenger — seated in 11A — had been miraculously rescued and was undergoing treatment at a hospital. “We cannot confirm the final toll yet, especially as the aircraft crashed in a residential area,” he said. The devastation on the ground was horrifying as the crash site included Atulyam Flats, home to staff from the Civil Hospital. According to sources, approximately 50 bodies have been recovered so far. At the time of the crash, nearly 200 people were believed to be inside the three residential buildings housing 94 flats, raising fears that the toll may significantly rise. The aircraft crashed onto the BJ Medical College PG hostel, collapsing parts of four buildings, killing at least 50 medical students. Six bodies have been recovered from the hostel so far. There was utter chaos at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, with the hospital ran short of body bags. The ill-fated aircraft was commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a veteran with over 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged approximately 1,100 hours. As fire and rescue teams battled the inferno and sifted through debris, Home Minister Amit Shah visited the injured and chaired an emergency meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel. They reviewed the ongoing rescue efforts and discussed the next steps in managing the fallout of the catastrophic crash. Across the world, UN chief Antonio Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were among scores of world leaders who offered condolences. Guterres said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the plane crash. President Putin said,“Please convey my sympathy and support to the families of those killed and my wishes for a swift recovery to those P7 injured in the crash.” Air India 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Ahmedabad to Gatwick Departure: 1339 IST Runway No: 23 MAYDAY! MAYDAY! The first series of video grabs show how the flight ascended and started descending before crashing. (Right) The tail got stuck in the roof of medical college hostel 241 on flight dead 169 INDIANS 1 CANADIAN 52 BRITISH 2 PILOTS 7 PORTUGUESE 10 CABIN CREW MARKING a major milestone in the Central Vista redevelopment, the process of vacating iconic administrative buildings such as North Block, South Block, and Shastri, Nirman, Udyog and Krishi Bhawans has formally begun. Ministries housed in these decades-old structures are set to shift to the newly built Common Central Secretariat (CCS) Building 3, which is now in its final stage of readiness. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will occupy over 200 rooms on the 4th to 6th floors. The Ministry of Exter- nal Affairs (MEA) would get at least 100 rooms on the 3rd floor, which it will share with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, allotted 25 rooms. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Department of Personnel and Training, currently in Shastri Bhawan and North Block, have been allotted 150 and 90 rooms across the lower floors. The Ministry of Rural Development and the MSME Ministry including , the Land Resources and Development Commissioner, will move from Udyog, Krishi and Nirman Bhawan to the 2nd and ground floors of CCS 3. A CPWD facilitation desk has killed on ground 1 Survivor (UK) EX-GUJARAT CM RUPANI MIRACULOUS: RAMESH AMONG DEAD IN CRASH LIVES TO TELL TALE on the doomed aircraft. Sources close to the former CM revealed that he was planFORMER Gujarat Chief Minis- ning the London visit to bring ter Vijay Rupani was among the back his wife, Anjali Rupani. dead in the plane crash. Rupani’s Rajkot residence was Gujarat BJP President and a grim picture with tense famUnion Minister CR Paaily members, neightil confirmed the worst: bours, and well-wishers “Vijay Rupani was also gathered in stunned on the flight to meet his silence. family He is a victim of . Odisha Chief Ministhis accident. This is a ter Mohan Charan Mahuge loss for the BJP.” jhi expressed deep grief Contradictions deepover the death of former Vijay Rupani ened when a close aide Gujarat CM Vijay Rupaof Rupani insisted he ni. “Our party has lost a had boarded a different flight. senior leader, and the nation Yet a leaked passenger manifest mourns a statesman whose genclearly listed “Vijay Ramniklal tle nature and contributions to Rupani” as the 12th traveller in public life will always be rethe Business Class Z-category membered,” he said. D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad Formal investigation initiated, says minister NEW DELHI: Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said. “A formal investigation has been initiated by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in line with protocols set by International Civil Aviation Organization.” A team of US investigators (National Transportation Safety Board) will assist AAIB with its investigation. Boeing safety concerns after Dreamliner accident NEW DELHI: Air India crash rings safety alarm bells for Boeing planes. The fresh accident has raised questions on the safety on its widebody Dreamliner planes which were considered one of the safest planes | P10 Govt offices start to move out as Central Vista project picks up pace PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi 50 *FInal toll to be out after DNA tests on bodies been set up to coordinate the move. Nodal officers will assist with movement plans, parking, safety features and services. The relocation marks a historic transition from buildings that have housed India’s administration for decades. North and South Blocks were conceptualised over a century ago when the capital shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. The Bhawans, built 60 to 70 years ago, currently house 51 ministries and departments. Ministries in Nirman and Shastri Bhawan were recently asked to prepare for relocation by October or November to enable construction of CCS Buildings 4, 5 and 9. Interior work and digital infrastructure in CCS 3 are currently being finalised. D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad MIRACLES do happen. Once in a while there are instances when humans do cheat death. One such example was when one person walked out of the Air India crash on Thursday. What seemed even outrageously miraculous was the way he walked out from the inferno with some bruises. He was shaken. Ramesh Vishwaskumar, a British citizen seated on 11A survived a tragedy that 241 other on board could not. “Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise,” he told local reporters, all of whom had milled around him with deep disbelief. “There were dead bodies around me. I got scared. I got up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere.” His chest, eyes, and feet bore “impact injuries,” but he lived to tell the tale. In the viral video now making rounds on social media, Ramesh can be seen limping away from the wreckage, clothes torn, blood streaking down his face—an image etched with trauma and raw L E T H A L I M PAC T Mayday call in two minutes but no contact after that. Mayday call is given at a time of full emergency The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of civil hospital and BJ Medical college PILOTS Captain Sumeet Sabharwal: 8,200 flying hours of experience First officer Clive Kundar: 1,100 hours of flying experience WORST FLIGHT DISASTER IN TERMS OF CASUALTIES The deadliest crash was in 1996, when a Saudia and Kazakhstan Airlines flight collided mid-air near Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, killing 349 people PREVIOUS LETHAL DISASTER Ramesh Vishwaskumar survival. Originally from India, Ramesh has lived in London for the past 20 years with his wife and child. His return trip was supposed to be a brief family reunion; instead, it turned into a brush with death. But the trauma didn’t end with survival. His brother Ajay Vishwaskumar, who was also on the same flight, is currently 'missing'. Two of Ramesh’s friends have rushed to Ahmedabad from Diu, hoping for another miracle and fearing the worst. Ramesh was rushed to a hospital by ambulance soon after escaping the wreckage. Doctors have termed his injuries non-life-threatening, but emotional toll will take time to heal. India’s worst single-aircraft crash was on Jan 1, 1978, when Air India’s Boeing 747, Emperor Ashoka, crashed, killing all 213 onboard shortly after takeoff to Dubai RECENT TRAGEDIES 2020 Air India Express with 190 onboard skidded off Kozhikode runway. 21 died others survived 2010 Air India Express plane from Dubai crashed at Mangalore with 166 onboard. Eight survived 1985 An Air India flight was bombed mid-air; all 329 died This could go down as one of the worst plane crashes in the history of aviation Tata Group to provide 1 crore to kin of deceased, to take care of medical needs Monsoon may reach Northwest, Delhi, by June 25 Toll rises to four as two more fall to diarrhoea, RATs deployed in Jajpur J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AFTER battling intense heatwaves, New Delhi and Northwest India may get relief from the ongoing heatwave next week as the Southwest Monsoon is likely to advance between June 19 and 25, according to the IMD. Until then, high temperatures and dust storms will persist, especially in Rajasthan. Severe heat has gripped the region, affecting daily life across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and even hill stations like Manali. The IMD has forecast widespread rainfall across central, east, and northwest India starting next week. Temperatures may dip by 2–4°C. WITH two more deaths reported in the last 24 hours, diarrhoea menace turned grim in Jajpur district where over 700 people across four blocks and an urban local body have been affected by the water-borne disease which has shown no signs of a let up even after three days. Around 300 people were hospitalised across the district even as the health administration struggled to pinpoint the source of the infection. The toll rose to four with the report of two more patients succumbing to the disease while undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospi- @ Jajpur/Bhubaneswar tal in Cuttack. The deceased were identified as Pabitra Das (45) of Baruan and Sebati Ghadei (75) of Malapada village. Though the official toll was pegged at four, sources said, the number might rise as some affected persons were admitted to hospitals outside the district. Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department Aswathy S rushed to Jajpur on Thursday to review the ground situation. Two state-level rapid action teams (RATs) comprising medical officers, microbiologists, epidemiologists and officials from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme have been deployed to support efforts of the district administration. The teams are working closely with the chief district medical and public health officer in Jajpur. Though exact cause of the outbreak has not been ascertained yet, local health officials said, community feasts, consumption of rotten mangoes and water contamination could be the primary reasons. Director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra said faecal and water samples have been collected from the affected areas and sent for tests. “The test reports are awaited. Efforts are on to provide immediate treatment and control the outbreak,” he CONTINUED ON P5 told TNIE.