Investigation Underway for One of India's Worst Aviation Disasters Amid Modi's Site Visit

Policemen secure the site of an airplane crash in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

BY  NEWS BLEND 360

Updated 2:33 AM EDT, June 13, 2025

NEW DELHI (NB360) — Authorities are examining one of India’s most severe aviation tragedies following an Air India plane crash that resulted in the deaths of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, officials announced Friday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash location.

The Indian government has initiated an inquiry into the deadly crash of the London-bound Air India aircraft that descended into a residential area in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad shortly after taking off on Thursday.

Officials reported that most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Early Friday, there was no information on the crash's cause or efforts to recover the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — as authorities continued their search at the crash site.

The aircraft collided with a building housing a medical college hostel and ignited, resulting in the deaths of several college students on the ground. Thick smoke rose from the crash site near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with over 5 million residents and the capital of Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The sudden and heartbreaking loss of so many lives is indescribable,” Modi expressed on social media after visiting the location. “We empathize with their pain and recognize that the absence left behind will be felt for years to come.”

Kalpesh Bhai, whose 14-year-old brother was killed when an Air India plane crashed into a neighborhood, wails outside the autopsy room at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Modi meets the sole survivor

There was only one survivor of the crash, who was seen in television footage meeting Modi at a local government hospital.

Dr. Dhaval Gameti informed the Associated Press that he had examined the man, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh.

“He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Dr. Gameti stated. “However, he appears to be out of danger.”

Another medic mentioned that Ramesh recounted how the plane began descending immediately after takeoff and suddenly split in two, ejecting him before a loud explosion occurred.

Investigators examine crash cause

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has started a probe into the disaster following global protocols established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, stated Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on social media.

A team from the United States is expected to arrive in India to assist. Experts from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, and General Electric are all being dispatched.

DNA testing for victims in progress

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

Modi is set to meet with senior officials later Friday. He also visited some of the injured individuals on the ground during his hospital visit.

Thursday’s Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing aircraft have faced safety concerns with other models.

Experts indicate that there are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft globally, and this was the first fatal crash in 16 years of operation.

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Reported from Srinagar, India