PM Modi to visit Ahmedabad amid situation after plane crash

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File | Photo Credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Ahmedabad on Friday (June 13, 2025) amid the deadly Air India flight crash that claimed the lives of 241 people, including 12 crew members, onboard.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and obtained detailed information regarding the entire incident.

Ahmedabad plane crash LIVE updates

Mr. Shah said on Thursday (June 12) that there was no chance of saving anyone in the London-bound Air India plane crash because of the high temperature caused by the burning of almost 1.25 lakh litres of fuel in the aircraft.

Expressing condolences to family members of those killed, Mr. Shah said the exact number of deaths will be officially released only after DNA tests. Mr. Shah revealed that approximately 1000 DNA tests have to be conducted so far.

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"The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone... I visited the crash site," the Home Minister told the media.

"In just 10 minutes of the incident, we got the information. After that, I informed the Prime Minister, the Gujarat Home Minister, the Control Room of the Home Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Civil Aviation Minister. The Prime Minister instantly called back, and the personnel from the Union and State governments jumped in jointly for the relief and rescue operations," he added.

The Boeing 787-8, Air India flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London, which crashed into a resident doctors' hostel building shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India. "Following the tragic incident in Ahmedabad, a formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)," Mr. Naidu posted on X.

He informed that the government was also constituting a high-level committee of people with expertise in multiple disciplines to examine the crash incident and devise ways to strengthen aviation safety by preventing such incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a federal agency authorised by Congress to investigate civil aviation accidents in the United States (US), is gearing up to send a team of investigators to India to assist with probing the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash.

Published - June 13, 2025 08:44 am IST