Investigators search Air India crash site for evidence and more victims

Investigators searched the site of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger Friday a day after an Air India plane split apart and fell from the sky, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground.

The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when it fell in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday.

DNA testing was being conducted to identify bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. More victims are expected to be found in the search at the crash site. There was no information on whether the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered.

The plane hit a building hosting a medical college hostel and burst into flames, killing several college students on the ground. Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. 

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words,” Modi said on social media after visiting the site. “We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come.” 

Modi meets lone survivor

The survivor was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries.

Viswashkumar Ramesh told India’s national broadcaster he still can’t believe he was alive. He said the aircraft seemed to become stuck immediately after takeoff. He said then the lights came on, and right after that it accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed.

He said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.

 “When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” he said. 

Investigation into the cause and identification of victims

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating, and the U.S. participants in the probe are expected to include people from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric.

Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Two doctors at the hospital said the bodies of four medical students killed on the ground after the plane crash were handed to their families. They said at least 30 other injured students were still admitted in the hospital and at least four of them were critical. 

Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with senior officials later Friday. He also met some of those injured on the ground during the hospital visit. 

Thursday’s Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.

According to experts, there are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide, and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation.

Eyewitness accounts describe damage

Residents living in the vicinity, who were among the first to rush to the crash site and help with rescue, described the scale of damage like they had never seen.

“In the beginning, I couldn’t understand anything, it was only smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning,” Indrajeet Singh Solanki said.

Solanki said he and many others helped the injured people and rushed them to hospitals. “We had only one aim – to save lives no matter what happens,” he said.

The tragedy has left him shaken. “It will be hard to sleep for the next few days at least,” Solanki said.