Only one of the 242 passengers survived the crash of an Air India plane on Thursday (June 12th), the airline confirmed
Although the media previously reported, citing Indian government sources, that the number of victims was greater than 300, the exact number of deaths in plane crash Er India still unknown.
Vidi Chaudhary, a senior state police official, said the death toll was higher than 240, revising the previous number because, he said, some body parts were counted twice, Reuters reported.
According to CNN, at least 290 people are feared dead when a London-bound plane crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff from the airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
So far, it is known for sure that only one of the 242 passengers survived the accident.
There were 242 passengers and crew members on the plane - 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, seven Portuguese citizens, while one passenger was of Canadian origin.
Number of deaths outside the plane
At least eight locals were killed, including four medical students, who lived in the area of Ahmedabad where the plane crashed, a senior health official told the BBC.
The other four were relatives of the students who lived in the hostel.
Local media reported that as many as 24 people died on the ground, Reuters reports, noting that it could not confirm that number.
Rescuers have completed their search of the crash site and are now searching for missing persons and bodies in buildings, as well as for parts of the plane that could explain why the plane crashed shortly after takeoff.
Local media reported that one of the two black boxes had been found. Reuters could not confirm the reports, which also did not say whether the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder had been found.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site and met the injured in hospital.
Photo: CISF via APThe plane crashed after takeoff.
Who survived the plane crash?
Only one passenger survived the plane crash.
He is a British citizen of Indian origin, identified by "Hindustan Times" as Vishvash Kumar Ramesh.
Police said he was sitting in seat 11A, in the emergency exit row, and was able to jump out.
In the footage that appeared shortly after the accident, Ramesh can be seen walking with difficulty towards an ambulance covered in blood.
"Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise, and then the plane crashed. Everything happened so quickly," he was quoted as saying in an interview from the hospital where he was admitted.
He said he was visiting family and returning to the UK with his brother, who was sitting in the second row. He did not know if his brother had survived, he said.
"He said, 'I have no idea how I got off the plane,'" his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told PA Media in Leicester, UK.
Air India later confirmed that of the 242 people on board, 241 people died, making Ramesh the sole survivor.
His cousin Ajay Walgi told reporters in Leicester, England, that Ramesh called the family to tell them he was "fine," adding that they were upset for his brother and all the others who died.
How are victims identified?
Dr JS Pillai, who is part of the forensic team at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, told the BBC they were trying to identify the bodies as soon as possible.
He said the team was following the procedures established by Interpol.
"We use three main identification techniques. The first is a fingerprint - if available. The second is tooth structure. The third is DNA testing, which is the gold standard," he said.
He added that the bodies will be handed over when one of the three methods helps identify the victim.
A police official said that six bodies of the dead have been handed over to their families so far.
In Ahmedabad, relatives of passengers gathered at an emergency center on Friday to provide DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified.
Rescuers are still searching for missing people and plane wreckage in charred buildings in Ahmedabad.
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