Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 12: Flight operations at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad was resumed on Thursday evening following a temporary suspension due to the crash of the London-bound Air India flight in the afternoon.
A London-bound flight carrying 242 people including 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed near the Meghaninagar residential area moments after taking off at 1:38 p.m. from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon.
“All flight operations at Ahmedabad Airport have resumed,” Ahmedabad Airport posted on X. For the latest flight information, please stay connected with your airline and our official updates, the airport said. Earlier, all flight operations were temporarily suspended as a result of Air India plane crash.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah who arrived in Ahmedabad on being told by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to oversee rescue operations, said the entire country was in a state of mourning following the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 in Ahmedabad. Expressing deep sorrow over the devastating loss of lives, Amit Shah assured that the government stood firmly with the families of the deceased, offering full support during this hour of unimaginable grief.
Amit Shah added that DNA sampling was currently underway and only after that process would authorities be able to formally identify all the deceased passengers.
The minister said the fire spread so rapidly after the aircraft went down that “there was no chance to save anything.” He emphasized the severity of the impact and the immediate inferno that engulfed the wreckage, making rescue efforts nearly impossible in the initial moments.
In the aftermath of the catastrophic Air India Flight AI171 crash, Mr Shah also visited the Civil Hospital in Asarwa, in the evening to meet the injured and assess the emergency response on the ground. He also held a high-level meeting with senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Gujarat Government to coordinate rescue, medical response and investigation efforts.
Earlier in the day, Amit Shah wrote in a post on X saying he was “pained beyond words by the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad.” Amit Shah added that disaster response forces had been swiftly deployed to the site and that he had spoken with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner to take stock of the situation and coordinate emergency efforts on the ground.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick, crashed just minutes after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, plummeting into a doctors’ hostel near a medical college. The impact triggered a massive explosion, killing passengers, crew members and several people on the ground. As of Thursday night, over 200 bodies have been recovered and DNA testing is underway to help identify the victims.
