Passenger plane with 242 people on board crashes in India: at least 30 dead (video)
On June 12, a passenger plane crashed in India. An Air India flight with 242 people on board was bound for London but crashed over a residential development minutes after take off from Ahmedabad airport. About this informs NDTV.
The plane took off at 13:39 (10:09 GMT) from one of the runways. A few seconds after takeoff, the crew sent a “Mayday” signal, indicating an emergency, but then communication with the plane was lost. At an altitude of 200 meters, the plane disappeared from the radar, sharply lost altitude and crashed. The disaster occurred in the Meghani district – the plane fell on the roof of the dormitory of the medical college.
Fire engines and ambulances promptly arrived at the scene of the accident, and the injured were evacuated on stretchers. According to Air India, there were 230 passengers, 10 crew members and 2 pilots on board the Boeing 787-8. Among the passengers were 169 citizens of India, 53 citizens of Great Britain, 1 citizen of Canada and 7 citizens of Portugal. After the inspection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that there were no Ukrainians among the passengers.
At least 30 people could become victims of the disaster. The plane crashed on the roof of the canteen of the government hostel of BJ Medical College, killing many medical students. Rescuers have already retrieved 30 to 35 bodies, and even more people remain under the rubble. One of the possible causes of the plane crash is considered a technical malfunction, since the pilots had time to send a distress signal.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India has announced the start of an official investigation into the cause of the accident with the participation of Boeing’s technical team. As reported by the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, the Director General of the Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau along with the investigation team have already arrived in Ahmedabad to find out the circumstances of the crash.
