Investigators begin probe after London-bound Dreamliner kills 265 on ground and aboard

AFP | Ahmedabad

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Investigators recovered a black box recorder from the crash site yesterday of a London-bound passenger jet that ploughed into a residential area of India’s Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground.

One man on board the plane, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, miraculously survived Thursday’s fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

The nose and front wheel of Air India flight 171 landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had been counted so far, which suggested that at least 24 people were killed on the ground. The toll could rise further as more body parts are recovered.

“The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed”, Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement late on Thursday. DNA samples will be taken from family members of the dead who live abroad, he said.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the devastated neighbourhood yesterday and was also pictured by survivor Ramesh’s bedside.

‘Last call’

In Ahmedabad, disconsolate relatives of passengers gathered at an emergency centre yesterday to give DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified.

Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been aboard with his wife and threeyear-old daughter. They had spoken as his cousin sat in the plane, just before takeoff.

“He called us and he said: ‘I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay’. That was his last call.”

Volunteer rescuers described seeing “bodies everywhere”.

“The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal,” said Bharat Solanki, 51, who was working at a nearby fuel station and rushed to the site with a couple of friends.

Ahmedabad, the main city in India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and its busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.

“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.

US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.

The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.

Tata Group, Air India’s owners, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.

Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash. “It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.

“The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”