Kathmandu: India’s civil aviation minister has confirmed the recovery of the black box from the Air India flight that crashed in a residential area of Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on Thursday. The London-bound aircraft was carrying 242 people; only one passenger survived.
The crash claimed the lives of 241 people on board. Authorities have yet to confirm the total number of casualties on the ground, but a local official told the BBC that at least eight residents were killed in the impact.
The sole survivor, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, was seated in 11A and is currently recovering in hospital. “I still cannot believe how I made it out alive,” he told reporters.
According to Air India, the flight included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian.
Rescue teams and forensic experts are working to identify victims. A doctor involved in the process told the BBC that identification is being done through DNA matching, while grieving families await confirmation.