Condolences have been pouring in for the crew members of the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, 12 June.
According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft was carrying two pilots, 10 cabin crew members, and 230 passengers on board. It was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, with First Officer Clive Kundar.
While Captain Sabharwal was an LTC with 8200 hours of experience, Kunder had 1100 hours of experience.
Among the 10 cabin crew members, three have been identified as Aparna Mahadik, Shradha Dhawan, and Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam.
A widely shared tweet by news agency PTI showed the family of Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam looking through her old photographs and awaiting official confirmation
Air India, in an official statement, said, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleagues. Our thoughts are with their families during this difficult time.”
Visuals of grieving families have emerged from hospitals and airports as relatives seek information about the crew and passengers on board.
The aircraft crashed into a doctors’ hostel at BJ Medical College, just outside the airport perimeter, minutes after takeoff. Many undergraduate MBBS students are also feared dead.
There has been no official confirmation on the number of passenger casualties yet. However, one passenger is reported to have survived.
G S Malik, Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, told news agency ANI: "The police found one survivor on seat 11A. One survivor has been taken to the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan, and other leaders posted messages of condolence on X (formerly Twitter), extending support to the families affected.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an investigation into the crash. Further details about the sequence of events leading up to the crash are expected in the coming days.