Ahmedabad: The death toll in the Ahmedabad plane crash rose to 274, including 33 non-passengers, officials said on Saturday.
All but one of the 242 passengers on board the London-bound flight that crashed into a medical college complex near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday were earlier confirmed dead. The collection of DNA samples from the family members of the victims continued on Saturday to help identify the bodies.
Many came to the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad to provide their samples. Samples from over 250 people have already been collected in the massive identification effort. The victims’ identification relies entirely on DNA results, as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
Investigators on Friday recovered a Black box of the Air India plane from the rooftop of a medical college hostel as they scoured through the debris for clues to the cause of the worst air tragedy in the country in three decades.
In a major breakthrough, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), commonly known as the Black box, was recovered from the “rooftop” at the crash site. The DFDR will help reconstruct the ill-fated flight’s final moments and is crucial to determining how the disaster occurred.
The government has constituted a high-level multi-disciplinary committee for examining the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, that left 241 people dead.
“A High Level Multi-disciplinary Committee is constituted for examining the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, 2025. The Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future,” an order issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry read.
“The Committee will not be a substitute for other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future,” the order clarified.
“The committee will have access to all records, including, among others, flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance records, ATC Log and witness testimonies,” it stated, adding that the committee will publish its report within three months.
It said that the Committee will be headed by the Home Secretary and will include representatives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian Air Force and Aviation experts.
The committee will assess the emergency response of the various stakeholders, including rescue operations and coordination among them. It will also suggest policy changes, operational improvements and training enhancements required to prevent such occurrences and handle post-crash incident situations.
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