AHMEDABAD, India – Heartbroken families gathered in grief on Saturday following one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history, as the death toll from the Air India crash rose to 279.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it issued a distress call and crashed during takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, bursting into flames upon impact with nearby residential buildings.
Officials confirmed that 279 bodies have been recovered so far, making it one of the most devastating plane crashes of the 21st century. The sole survivor among the 242 people on board, 40-year-old British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, remains hospitalized.
The crash also claimed the lives of at least 38 people on the ground. Emotional scenes unfolded as families waited for DNA identification to confirm victims’ identities, with relatives from abroad flying in to assist.
The victims included Indian, British, Portuguese, and Canadian nationals. Among them were everyday citizens and prominent figures, including a local politician and a teenage street vendor.
Ramesh recounted his survival in disbelief, saying, “I thought I was going to die… but I opened my eyes and realized I was still alive.”
Aviation authorities have recovered one of the flight’s black boxes and continue searching for the second to help determine what caused the aircraft to crash after barely lifting off the ground. Boeing stated it is cooperating fully with the investigation.