Ahmedabad plane crash: 33 on-ground deaths push toll to 274, some people missing

The death toll in the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad rose to 274 as salvage teams scoured the debris of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The team operating at the site found the black box of the plane along with 29 more bodies on Friday. This increased the death toll to 274, making it the worst single-aircraft disaster in the history of aviation.

The initial death toll was 241, amounting to the passengers and crew onboard. However, the authorities noted that 33 people died on the campus of Ahmedabad’s BJ Medical College after the aircraft crashed into the college building in the Meghaninagar area.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector 1) Neeraj Badgujar said that the black box was found on the rooftop of the students’ mess on the medical college campus. It is pertinent to note that the aircraft’s emergency location transmitter was found on Thursday night.

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The focus shifts to the ravaged campus building

According to The Times of India, the search operations focused on the campus building overnight since it bore the brunt of the crash, along with nearby areas. “We have sent 319 body parts, including complete and partial remains, for DNA matching to confirm the victims’ identities,” a state govt official told TOI on Friday.

Besides the 241 victims on board, the confirmed casualties, before more bodies were discovered, included three doctors and the pregnant wife of a neurosurgery resident. Meanwhile, a fourth ‘doctor’, identified as MBBS student Jay Prakash Chaudhary, was reported missing.

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His body was eventually identified by his family on Friday. The authorities recovered the black box of the aircraft 28 hours after the accident took place. It is pertinent to note that the black box includes a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). It is considered an essential tool in identifying the cause of the aircraft crash.

Ahmedabad police registers a case

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad city police have registered a case of accidental death at Meghaninagar police station and launched an investigation into the matter. The police noted that they received the first call of a crash and fire at 1:44 pm on Thursday.

The crash occurred at the Old IGP Campus, which houses residential blocks for MBBS students and resident doctors from BJ Medical College, affiliated with the Civil Hospital. Soon after the crash, officials noted that most passengers and crew had been charred beyond recognition. Their remains were eventually transported to the Civil Hospital.

On Friday, Central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, visited the crash site. It is pertinent to note that foul play has not been ruled out as the authorities investigate the case. The focus is now on gathering flight data and evidence to understand the technical and/or human factors that may have caused the crash.