AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Investigators on Friday searched the site of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger 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.
Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, and DNA testing was being conducted to identify the victims. More bodies 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, in the city that is 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.”
The survivor was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries.
Vishwaskumar Ramesh told India's national broadcaster he still can’t believe he was alive. He said the aircraft seemed to be stuck in the air a few seconds after takeoff. Green and white lights went on and the plane seemed unable to gain height before it crashed. Ramesh 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 unfasten his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.
“When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” he said.
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.
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Roy reported from New Delhi and Hussain reported from Srinagar, India.
