Air India Crash Kills Over 200 — Ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani Among the Dead

Ahmedabad, India- A routine flight turned catastrophic today as Air India Flight AI171, en route to London, crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Over 200 people are confirmed dead, with dozens more injured in one of the worst aviation disasters in Indian history.

Among the passengers was former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani — who is now confirmed dead.

The Crash

What We Know So Far

• The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.

• Nationalities included 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian.

• The plane issued a Mayday signal shortly after takeoff. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane descending with its landing gear still extended, suggesting an immediate technical failure.

• It crashed directly into a student hostel, catching many on the ground completely off guard.

• Ramesh Viswashkumar, seated in 11A, is the only confirmed survivor. He is currently hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

“It Was Raining Metal and Bodies”

The plane tore through the medical college’s residential quarters. Students were eating lunch, studying, sleeping — completely unprepared for a commercial jet to rip through their lives. Debris scattered across multiple blocks. Fires erupted in three wings of the hostel.

Emergency services — including local firefighters, the Indian Army, and NDRF teams — scrambled to pull victims from the wreckage, but for most, it was already too late.

Students at the college hostel — mostly young medical interns — say they had no warning before the plane slammed into their building. Survivors described “pieces of fuselage embedded in concrete walls” and severed limbs scattered in the courtyard.

Vijay Rupani Dead at 68

Vijay Rupani, the BJP leader who served as Gujarat’s 16th Chief Minister from 2016 to 2021, was among the passengers. His death has sent shockwaves through India’s political circles.

This marks the second time in Indian history a Gujarat CM has died in an aircraft incident, echoing the 1965 death of Balwantrai Mehta in a Pakistan Air Force shootdown.

BJP President C.R. Patil called it a “historic loss,” and added:

“Rupani-ji dedicated his life to Gujarat. His passing in this horrific tragedy is a blow to the state and the nation.”

Minister Modi has yet to publicly comment.

Corporate Accountability? Boeing in the Crosshairs Again

This was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner — the same aircraft model once hailed as one of the safest and most advanced commercial planes on earth.

But now? It’s at the center of a mass casualty investigation, with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), India’s DGCA, Boeing, and GE Aerospace all involved in what’s shaping up to be a damning global probe.

Boeing is already under fire globally for:

• Safety shortcuts

• Whistleblower silencing

• Lax manufacturing standards

This crash just added fuel to that fire — and 242 lives to the body count..

One Survivor — 40-Year-Old Man in Hospital

Officials confirmed Ramesh Viswashkumar, seated in 11A, as the sole confirmed survivor so far. He’s recovering at Civil Hospital and is under intensive care.

The Fallout

Air India, now owned by Tata Group, has pledged:

• ₹1 crore compensation per death

• Full medical coverage for survivors

• Funding to rebuild the college hostel

But no amount of money replaces over 200 lives lost — many of them students, doctors, families, and children.

What Happens Now?

The black box has been recovered. Investigations are underway by:

• India’s DGCA (aviation authority)

• Boeing & GE Aerospace

• U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

While an official cause has not been declared, aviation experts are already citing:

• Engine failure or compressor stall

• Faulty software in flight controls

• Hydraulic system failure

• Or possible pilot error due to a rushed climbout phase

There is no current evidence of sabotage or terrorism, but nothing has been ruled out.

The lives lost in Ahmedabad today were not collateral damage. They were human beings. And the question we should all be asking right now is:

Who failed them — and who will be held responsible?