Investigators yesterday searched the site of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger a day after an Air India plane split apart and fell from the sky, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when it fell in a residential area of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday, killing several college students.
Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, and DNA testing was being conducted to identify the victims. More bodies are expected to be found in the search at the crash site. There was no information on whether the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered.
Photo: Indian Ministry of Home Affairs via AP
“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,” Modi said on social media after visiting the site. “We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.”
The lone survivor, Vishwaskumar Ramesh, was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries.
Ramesh said he still cannot believe he was alive.
The aircraft seemed to be stuck in the air a few seconds after takeoff, he said, adding that green and white lights went on and the plane seemed unable to gain height before it crashed.
Ramesh said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.
“When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” he said.
The Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating, and would be joined by US participants, which are expected to include people from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric.
Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, Federation of All India Medical Association president Akshay Dongardiv said.
Two doctors at the hospital said the bodies of four medical students killed on the ground after the plane crash were handed to their families.
At least 30 other injured students were still admitted in the hospital and at least four of them were critical, they said.
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