‘Utterly shocked’: Sports fraternity reacts as Air India plane with 244 passengers crashes in Ahmedabad

‘Utterly shocked’: Sports fraternity reacts as Air India plane with 244 passengers crashes in Ahmedabad
‘Utterly shocked’: Sports fraternity reacts as Air India plane with 244 passengers crashes in Ahmedabad

New Delhi: An Air India plane carrying 242 passengers crashed shortly after taking off at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, June 12. The flight carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport.

The plane crashed at a doctor’s hostel in the Meghani area. The flight was identified as Air India 171 and was being flown by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar. The flight took off at 1:38 pm and crashed just five minutes after the same, with visuals showing thick black smoke encompassing the air.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the tragic incident heartbreaking and tweeted, “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected”.

Emergency services rushed to the crash site to carry out the rescue operations. As many as three NDRF teams have been deployed to the spot from Gandhinagar. Three additional teams are being moved from Vadodara, the NDRF added.

Air India also confirmed the incident in a statement on X and stated that the company is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident. The Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also released a statement, confirming the horrific crash.

Sports fraternity reacts to tragic plane crash

The flight manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national.

 The sports fraternity reacts as an Air India plane with 244 passengers crashed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today