‘Whole country should come together’: Mallikarjun Kharge after visit to airplane crash site in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD(Gujarat): Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge visited the site of the Air India flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad and said such incidents should not be seen as routine occurrences. He emphasised the need for collective support across the country in the aftermath of the crash and urged people to come together to help those affected.

Speaking at the site on Saturday, Kharge said, “It is not right to say that such accidents happen and that they are normal. In such a time, the people of the whole country should come together. I would request my party workers and leaders to keep helping the people. If they need anything, medicine or anything else that is not available here, they should arrange for that, too.”

Kharge also spoke to the wife and son of former Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani, who died in the crash. According to the Gujarat Congress, Kharge conveyed his condolences over a video call.

He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other Congress leaders during the visit to the crash site and Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and expressed grief over the incident. He described the scene of the devastation as deeply ‘saddening’.

“Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams are working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy,” PM Modi posted on X.

There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane.

Miraculously, one person, a British national of Indian origin, survived the crash, airline authorities said. The lone survivor, identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC.

Following the crash, the Tata group, which owns Air India, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic Air India plane crash on Thursday. (ANI)