One year ago, London-bound Flight 171 crashed shortly after taking off from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, killing all people on board but one.

Images of Viswashkumar Ramesh, the lone survivor, walking away from the crash site with bloodstains on his T-shirt and a mobile phone in his hand were carried by media outlets around the world.

As her husband and daughter boarded the doomed Air India flight a year ago, Mobbashera Vahora could never have imagined that her life would come crashing down in an instant. Moments after taking off from Ahmedabad, London-bound Air India Flight 171 crashed in what is one of India's worst aviation disasters in recent years.

Among those who lost their lives were her husband, Parvez Vahora, and their four-year-old daughter, Zuveriya. They had come to India to visit family and were returning to their home in London. The father and daughter were on board the ill-fated flight when it crashed shortly after departure, leaving behind grieving relatives and loved ones struggling to come to terms with the loss.

On the afternoon of June 12 last year, a dense, choking cloud of smoke rose over Ahmedabad as flames engulfed the wreckage of a London-bound Air India flight that crashed just outside the international airport.

The aircraft, carrying a huge quantity of aviation turbine fuel, had erupted into a fireball, sending temperatures soaring to nearly 1,000 degrees Celsius.

For the city's Chief Fire Officer Amit Dongre, who had taken charge just three months back, it was a nightmare and an extremely challenging situation, as his team was thrust into a rescue operation that stretched for nearly 10 hours, testing their training and resolve.

The scene was horrific - buildings struck by debris, vehicles ablaze, and the thick, dense smoke covering the city's Meghaninagar area. Crowds gathered in the area as Dongre's men fought their way through the inferno to search for survivors amid the risk of explosions from LPG cylinders and burning trees.

Despite the chaos, the fire department's coordination with police, airport authorities, and ambulance services became the lifeline that allowed them to rescue 28 persons.

(PTI)

British High Commissioner Lindy Cameron on Friday paid solemn tributes to the victims of the tragic Air India AI-171 plane crash on its first anniversary, marking a sombre moment of remembrance in Gujarat.

The diplomatic tribute commemorates the devastating aviation tragedy that occurred exactly a year ago on June 12, 2025.

On the first anniversary of the Ahmedabad plane crash, family members of the victims gathered at the crash site on Friday to pay tribute to their loved ones, while the tragedy continued to evoke painful memories among local residents and survivors' families.

Among those who visited the site was Kajal, a relative of one of the victims, who recalled the devastating moments when she first learned about the accident.

Speaking to IANS, Kajal said that her brother, Akash, was among those who lost their lives in the crash. She remembered receiving news of the incident and rushing to understand what had happened.

"My brother was sleeping there when the crash occurred. I used to live nearby and came to know that a plane had crashed. When I reached the area, I realised that the accident had taken place in front of my mother's hotel. I immediately called my sister and grandmother and asked them to check on my mother and brother. However, no one initially told me that my brother Akash had been affected," she said.

Recalling the tragic sequence of events, Kajal said her mother tried to save Akash after the aircraft crashed into the area, but was unable to do so.

(IANS)

The scars left behind by the wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed seconds after takeoff in Ahmedabad on June 12 last year are yet to be fully healed. The medical college hostel on which the massive aircraft fell after losing thrust stands as a skeletal concrete structure, soot clearly visible on the walls scarred by high-intensity aviation fuel fire.

The investigation into the crash is still going on and the final report is awaited, though an initial report has come. It will be a year tomorrow since the plane crash that killed 260, including people on the ground. Questions over pilot action, technical failure and the fuel cutoff switch theory continue to linger as families wait for closure. The efforts for ensuring compensation and fixing liabilities continue.

Time has a cruel way of moving forward while leaving the human heart entirely behind. Exactly one year ago, the sky over Ahmedabad became the stage for a nightmare that would forever alter the landscape of Indian aviation and shatter hundreds of lives in a single, catastrophic flash.

When the aircraft came down into the hostel complex, it didn't just destroy a plane; it instantly tore a crater through the futures, dreams, and sanctuaries of families both in the air and on the ground.

The Gujarat government has announced a Rs 547 crore plan to redevelop the campus destroyed after Air India's flight AI171 crashed into the student hostels and mess buildings a year ago, resulting in 260 deaths.

The New Mental Campus, functioning under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, is located adjacent to the Asarwa Civil Hospital and spreads across a vast total land area of 1,71,100 square meters. Prior to the accident, the campus housed several functional residential and hostel structures that utilised approximately 14,470 square meters of land.

On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner travelling from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed 32 seconds after take-off. All but one of the 242 on board the plane and 19 on ground died. A year since the tragedy, the wounds remain etched in people's minds.

At Terminal 3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, Anu Chikkara holds her newborn baby tightly as she shares her fears. "As soon as turbulence hits, your anxiety goes through the roof. Your concern centres around your child, who still has so much of the world to see," she says, while her child remains distracted by her aunt's ring. Chikkara acknowledges the necessity of air travel but notes that she flies out of compulsion rather than choice.

Air India has denied that families of victims of the AI-171 Boeing crash in Ahmedabad, which occurred on June 12, 2025, are being pressured to sign legal waivers in exchange for compensation.

The Tata Group airline said that there is "absolutely no deadline or pressure" on anyone to accept its final settlement offer.

Gujarat's former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's daughter had alleged that the airline was exerting pressure on the families of the crash victims to sign legal waivers for getting compensation. The former Chief Minister of Gujarat was among the 260 victims who were killed in the crash

In a statement issued in response to concerns raised by some families, Air India said relatives are free to wait for the official investigation findings before deciding whether to accept compensation.

With most of the interim payments having been disbursed, Air India has begun the process for final compensation and is engaging with families. Families or individuals have absolutely no deadline or pressure to accept our offer within a set timeframe, the statement said.

The airline also said that the wording in its Receipt, Discharge & Indemnity (RDI) document is intended only to ensure that compensation settlements remain final and to protect the airline from future claims, not to shield manufacturers or other third parties from potential legal liability.

Air India said in a statement that it has provided an interim payment of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased to help address immediate financial needs.

Interim compensation has been paid to families of 96 per cent of the deceased. The remaining cases are primarily those where documentation is incomplete or where there are ongoing family disputes. Also, 94 per cent of those who were injured on the ground have either got one time full and final compensation or interim compensation, based on the nature of injury incurred and any loss of livelihood. The remaining individuals collected a form from the helpdesk after the crash, but have since not submitted it, the airline said.

(PTI)

Nearly a year after the Air India Flight AI-171 disaster in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) GS Malik has detailed the extensive rescue, traffic management and victim identification operation undertaken in the aftermath of India's deadliest aviation accident in decades.

Malik said he received the first information while at home because the crash site was located roughly 200 metres from his residence.

"People called and informed me that there had been explosions and smoke. Almost immediately, I was informed through the control room that an aircraft had crashed. I left immediately and reached the site before 2 pm," he told IANS.

Malik described the scene as "extremely painful", with rescue personnel recovering bodies amid the wreckage. He said one of the first priorities was ensuring unhindered movement of ambulances and fire tenders.

"We created diversions and established green corridors for ambulances and fire tenders arriving from different parts of Ahmedabad. We knew Civil Hospital would come under pressure immediately after the crash, so arrangements were made there as well," he said.

Malik said authorities anticipated the arrival of victims' relatives and moved quickly to accelerate identification procedures.

"Nearly 200 police personnel experienced in documentation work were deployed to assist with paperwork and DNA-related processes," he detailed in an interview with IANS.

Blood samples from victims' relatives and biological samples from the deceased were collected and sent to forensic laboratories in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

According to Malik, the first identified body was handed over to relatives by 8.30 am on June 13, less than 20 hours after the crash.

"Even in many road accident cases, the process can take 24 hours. Here, identified bodies were released in less than 20 hours," he said.

The first victim identified through DNA matching was released at 3.19 pm on June 14, around 50 hours after the crash.

(IANS)