Ahmedabad Air India crash: Official death toll confirmed at 275

The Gujarat Health Department has confirmed the recovery of all bodies from the Air India Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 275 lives — including 241 onboard and 34 on the ground — marking the first official death toll since the tragedy on June 12.

To date, 260 victims have been identified through DNA matching, while six have been recognized by facial identification, Caliber.Az reports, citing Indian media.

Among the deceased are 120 men, 124 women, and 16 children. Authorities have handed over 256 bodies to grieving families, with DNA identification of the remaining victims ongoing.

The Boeing Dreamliner, en route to London, tragically lost altitude seconds after takeoff, crashing onto the residential campus of BJ Medical College in Meghani Nagar, adjacent to the airport perimeter. Remarkably, only one passenger — a British-Indian man seated at 11A — survived the devastating incident.

The cause of the crash remains undetermined as investigators continue to analyze the aircraft’s black box. Addressing reports suggesting damage to the black box and proposals to send it abroad for data extraction, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu dismissed such claims as “speculation.” “The black box is very much in India, and it is currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau or AAIB,” he affirmed.

In response to the catastrophe, Air India has announced a series of safety and preventive measures. Notably, the airline will reduce the deployment of wide-body aircraft on international routes by 15 per cent. 

By Vafa Guliyeva