BJP’s Vijay Rupani, a former Chief Minister of Gujarat, was among passengers killed in the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed shortly after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport.
The plane was headed to Gatwick airport in the UK, Air India said, when it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, 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,” Air India posted on X.
According to the seat chart, Vijay Rupani, 68, was on seat 2D of the Air India flight. He was on his way to London to meet his daughter.
Merely two minutes into the ascent, at around 1.40 p.m., the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into a medical college hostel building in the Meghani Nagar area, sparking a massive fire and widespread panic in the locality.