The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has extended condolences to the government and people of India after a plane that was carrying 242 passengers crashed.
“The thoughts of the people of South Africa are with the people of India as well as the people of all other countries affected by the crash during this difficult time and extends its sympathy to those families who have lost loved ones,” the department said in a statement.
This as an India Airlines plane crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. Flight AI171 was en route from Ahmedabad to London when it crashed into a hostel for doctors.
It was carrying 242 passengers from various nationalities, and the cause of the crash is still unknown.
According to the latest reports, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the scene of the plane crash and met the injured people in the hospital.
BBC reported that the sole survivor, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who sat in seat 11A, is recovering in hospital, with his brother stating he “has no idea how he survived”.
The British public service broadcaster stated there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian on the flight.
Meanwhile, other reports indicate that at least 290 people are dead as families continue to provide DNA samples to assist in identification victims.
Former India’s Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who served between 2016 and 2021, was among the passengers on the plane. – SAnews.gov.za
