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 visakhapatnam l friday l june 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l 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 Air India 171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Ahmedabad to Gatwick Departure: 1339 IST Runway No: 23 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 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 S Sabharwal, a veteran with over 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer C 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 Rammohan Naidu and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel. They reviewed the ongoing rescue efforts. Express read Rammohan rushes to Ahmedabad to personally monitor situation Vijayawada: Union Minister of Civil Aviation K Rammohan Naidu, who was in Vijayawada to attend a review meeting of the NDA as the coalition government led by CM Chandrababu Naidu completed one year in office on Thursday, rushed to Ahmedabad immediately upon receiving news of the Air India flight crash. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally spoke to Rammohan and took stock of the flight crash incident. The PM directed him to ensure that all necessary support is extended immediately and asked to be kept regularly updated on the situation. l e t h al i m pac t 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 killed on ground 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, 1 survivor (uk) ex-Gujarat CM Rupani miraculous: ramesh among dead in crash lives to tell tale fest clearly listed “Vijay Ramniklal Rupani” as the 12th traveller in the Business Class FORMER Gujarat Chief Min- Z-category on the doomed ister Vijay Rupani was among aircraft. the dead in the plane crash. Sources close to the former Gujarat BJP PresiCM revealed that he dent and Union Miniswas planning the Lonter CR Paatil condon visit to bring back fir med the worst: his wife, Anjali “Former Chief MinisRupani. ter of Gujarat Vijay Rupani’s Rajkot resRupani was also on the idence was a grim picflight to meet his famture with tense family ily. He is a victim of members, neighbours, Vijay Rupani this accident. This is a and well-wishers gathhuge loss for the BJP .” ered in stunned siContradictions deepened lence. “We’ve been neighbours when a close aide of Rupani since 1988. This feels like it’s insisted he had boarded a dif- happening to our own family ,” ferent flight. said Kiran, a resident of the Yet a leaked passenger mani- locality . D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad told local reporters, all of whom had milled around him with deep disbelief. “There were Miracles do happen. Once in dead bodies around me. I got a while there are instances scared. I got up and ran. There when humans do cheat death. were pieces of the plane One such example was everywhere.” wh e n o n e p e r s o n His chest, eyes, and walked out of the Air feet bore “impact injuIndia crash on Thursries,” but he lived to day What seemed even . tell the tale. In the viral outrageously miracuvideo now making lous was the way he rounds on social mewalked out from the india, Ramesh can be ferno with some bruisseen limping away Ramesh es. He was shaken. from the wreckage, Vishwaskumar Ramesh Vishwaskuclothes tor n, blood mar, a British citizen seated on streaking down his face. 11A survived a tragedy that 241 Originally from India, other on board could not. Ramesh has lived in London for “Thirty seconds after take- the past 20 years with his wife off, there was a loud noise,” he and child. D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad On AP govt’s first anniversary, Naidu launches Talliki Vandanam scheme S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Stating that the coalition government is extending financial benefits under the Talliki Vandanam scheme to 67 lakh students, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that his government would be providing support to 24.65 lakh more students compared to the previous government. He added that a total of `10,091 crore, including `1,346 crore for school development, would be spent on the scheme. “We promised that, regardless of how many children a family has, every student would receive support under Talliki Vandanam, and today , we have fulfilled that promise. As the coalition government marks its first anniversary we are imple, menting this crucial commitment, one of the ‘Super Six’ guarantees,” Naidu said. Addressing a press conference along with Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh on Thursday, marking one year of the coalition gover nment in office, Naidu stated, “There is a major difference between Talliki Vandanam and the previous government’s Amma Vodi. They covered only 42,61,965 students, whereas we are covering 67,27,164, an increase of 24,65,199 beneficiaries. They spent `5,540 crore; we are allocating `8,745 crore, which is `3,205 crore more.” To ensure transparency lists of , beneficiaries will be displayed at village and ward secretariats.  P4 Govt offices move out as Central Vista project begins Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi 50 *FInal toll to be out after DNA tests on bodies 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 Af fairs (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 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. M ayday call in two minutes but no contact after that. Mayday call is given at a time of full emergency T he 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 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 Tatas to provide 1 crore to kin of deceased, to take care of medical needs