The Tata Group on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs 1-1 crore to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic Air India Ahmedabad-London plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The Tata Group, the owner of Air India, said that it would give a assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of every person who lost his life in this tragedy.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said in a post on X, “We are very sad with the tragic incident related to Air India Flight 171. The grief we are feeling at this time cannot be expressed in words. Our condolences and prayers are with families who have lost their loved ones and who have been injured.”
He said, “The Tata Group will give a assistance of Rs 1 crore to the family of every person who lost his life in this tragedy. We will also bear the medical expenditure of the injured and ensure that they are all necessary care and help. In addition, we will also provide assistance in the construction of BJ Medical Hostel.”
“We stand with the families and communities affected in this unimaginable time,” he said.
Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, operating as flight number AL 171, was going from Ahmedabad to London, when crashed shortly after flying. The aircraft consisted of 242 people – which included 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson expressed “deep grief” over the incident. He said, “This is a difficult day for all of us in Air India, and now our entire focus is on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones.”
Wilson avoided speculating the cause of the accident, but said that investigation was going on. He said, “I know there are many questions and at this time I will not be able to answer them all.”
He said that the aircraft had 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian citizens.
The CEO of Air India said, “169 of passengers are Indian citizens, 53 are British citizens, seven Portuguese citizens and one canadian citizen. The injured passengers have been taken to the nearest hospitals by local authorities. We are actively working with the authorities on emergency feedback efforts.”
He said, “A special team of cared for Air India is reaching Ahmedabad to provide additional assistance. The investigation will take time, but whatever we can do.”
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Airplane also issued a brief statement saying, “We are in touch with Air India in relation to Flight 171 and are ready to assist them. Our sensations are with passengers, crews, first actor and all the affected.”
The Air India aircraft was commanded by Captain Sumit Sabharwal, who is LTC with 8,200 hours of flight experience. An official said he was assisted by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had a flying experience of 1,100 hours.
According to the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft flew on the runway 23 to 1339 IST (0809 UTC). This made a Made call to the ATC, but after that the aircraft did not respond to the call made by the ATC.
“Soon after flying from runway 23, the aircraft fell to the ground outside the circumference of the airport. Heavy black smoke was seen coming out of the accident site,” an official said.
