Ahmedabad: The identity of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has been confirmed through DNA testing, three days after the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. The test results came in at 11:10 am on Sunday. His body will be taken to his hometown Rajkot by a chartered flight.
The accident took place on June 12, when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (flight AI171) crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Of the 242 people onboard, 241 lost their lives. Mr Rupani, aged 68, was among the victims. Only one person survived the crash.
Crash site devastation
The aircraft had barely taken off when it crashed into a building inside the BJ Medical College campus in the Meghaninagar area, around one kilometre from the runway. The crash caused a massive fire, destroying parts of the hostel building and killing several people on the ground, including many MBBS students. As of Sunday, authorities have identified 32 victims, and 14 bodies have been handed over to the families.
Rupani’s travel plans had changed multiple times. He first booked a flight to London for May 19 but cancelled it. He then planned to travel on June 5, but that too was cancelled. He finally booked the June 12 flight on which the crash occurred. He was seated in business class, in seat 2D. He was reportedly travelling to London to meet his wife and daughter.
Probe into crash
CCTV footage from the airport shows the plane took off at 1:38 pm and remained airborne for just 32 seconds before it came crashing down. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), and experts from Boeing are now examining the aircraft’s black box data to understand what went wrong.
