Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 12 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri expressed grief over the tragic crash of the London-bound Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday, which had 242 people onboard.
The Chief Minister said that the people of Himachal Pradesh and the country stand together to pray for the peace of the departed souls and to provide strength to their family members to bear the irreparable loss.
Mukesh Agnihotri, in his condolence message, also expressed grief over the casualties of Medical hostel students who were having lunch when the plane crashed over the building of the hostel.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the doctors' hostel near the airport perimeter.
Air India said that among the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
"Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident," the Airlines said.
The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The official added that the copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience.
As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. The official said that heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site.