As aviation accident investigators sort through the wreckage of an Air India Boeing 787-8 that crashed on 12 June shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, the carrier has confirmed that all but one person aboard flight 171 died in the accident.
The Gurgaon-headquartered carrier said in an update on social media that the 787 was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
“We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities,” Air India says. “The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital.”
That survivor is widely reported to be British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was sitting in an emergency exit row and reportedly walked away from the burning wreckage.
The jet’s passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven residents of Portugal and one Canadian. Flight 171 was bound for London Gatwick airport.
Authorities have yet to disclose the number of casualties on the ground.
”Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,” the airline says. “Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones.”
The carrier has sent a “team of caregivers” to Ahmedabad and established a hotline for friends and relatives of passengers. It also organised two “relief flights” from Delhi and Mumbai for next of kin of passengers and crew killed in the accident.
Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team of investigators to assist Indian authorities, while the Federal Aviation Administration says it is launching a team in coordination with the NTSB.
Air India, Boeing and engine maker GE Aerospace have all stated support for relevant investigation efforts.
The crash has shaken the global aerospace industry as India’s worst aviation accident in decades and the first example of a fatal accident involving a 787 Dreamliner, Boeing’s flagship widebody jet.
Video circulating on social media appears to show the 787 fail to climb after lift-off, followed by a rapid descent in a nose-up attitude. It stayed aloft for less than 30s before impacting a residence for medical trainees, erupting in a massive fireball.
The 12-year old 787 was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had logged some 41,000h of flight time, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
