Air India crash LIVE: Latest updates as death toll rises to at least 265
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters yesterday that it was “way too premature” to ground Boeing 737s in the aftermath of the crash.
“They have to get on the ground and take a look,” he said.
“People are looking at videos and trying to assess what happened, which is never a strong, smart way to make decisions on what took place.”
Reuters reports that rescue workers have searched today for missing people and aircraft parts in the charred buildings of the medical college hostel hit by the plane in Ahmedabad.
UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has confirmed.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said US teams from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were also headed to India with support from Boeing and GE Aerospace.
Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, the brother of crash survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it.
“I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, just devastated.
“He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane’.”
The CEO of Air India has visisted the site.
Campbell Wilson was reportedly surrounded by reporters but did not answer any of their questions.
Yesterday, he expressed "deep sorrow", adding that his airline was "focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones".
CNN reports that at local health officials have said that at least 290 people are dead following the crash.
The Air India plane on its way to London Gatwick hit a medical hostel when it crashed, and images show its tail protruding from the building.
The death toll includes people on the plane and others on the ground.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited to crash site.
He said:
Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy.
Welcome to our live blog the morning after an Air India plane crashed, killing hundreds of people.
There is one known survivor, a British man.
Vishwashkumar Ramesh was sat in seat 11A.
Daily Express
