Vijay Rupani Seen In Instagram Video At Airport Moments Before Air India Crash

A video filmed by two British nationals at Ahmedabad airport captured the last known visuals of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, minutes before all of them were killed in a London-bound Air India plane crash on Thursday.

A clip posted by London-based yoga coach Jamie Meek and his partner Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek shows them seated at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and sharing their experiences during the India visit, when the senior BJP leader passes by. Dressed in a navy-blue Nehru jacket, Rupani is seen talking over the phone as he walks through the departure lounge.

The video, intended as a lighthearted farewell to India, was shared by the two Britons on Instagram just before they boarded the flight. "Goodbye India," Jamie said in the video. "We are at the airport, just boarding."

The 68-year-old Former Chief Minister was en route to London to visit his wife and daughter. He was seated in 2D on Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which took off at 1:38 pm with 242 people on board.

Moments after takeoff, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed into a residential wing of a medical college in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area. It plummeted into a hostel block, smashing through the dining hall and subsequently going up in flames. 

Eyewitnesses near the crash site reported seeing the aircraft flying unusually low. Rescue operations were swift but hampered by flames and dense smoke. Only one person survived.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu later confirmed Mr Rupani's death.

Vijay Rupani, 68, served as Gujarat's 16th Chief Minister from 2016 to 2021. Born in Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma, in 1956, he and his family migrated to India during the political unrest in Southeast Asia and settled in Rajkot. He began his political journey as a student activist and steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a municipal corporator in 1987.

Over the decades, Mr Rupani held various portfolios, including transport, water supply, and labour. He resigned as Chief Minister in 2021 as part of the BJP's leadership reshuffle ahead of state polls.