Air India announces ₹25 lakh interim payment to families of deceased, survivor in Ahmedabad plane crash

Air India Plane crash: Air India will be providing an interim payment of ₹25 lakh each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor of the Ahmedabad plane crash to help address immediate financial needs, the Tata Group owned airline announced on Saturday.

The latest amount announced will be paid in addition to the Tata Son's previously promised compensation of ₹1 lakh to families of each passenger who lost their lives in the deadly crash, stated Air India.

As many as 270 people, including MBBS students, a resident PG doctor were killed after an Air India plane — a Boeing 787 — smashed into BJ Medical College's hostel in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12. Only one passenger who was seated on 11A at the time of the crash, miraculously survived.

Following the deadly crash, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group, described 12 June as one of the "darkest days in the Tata Group's history" in an internal letter to employees.

Who is the lone survivor?

All 241 people, crew aboard the ill fated flight, including former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani lost their lives in the deadly crash. Only one Indian-born British national — Ramesh Vishwaskumar miraculously survived.

Aged 40-years, Ramesh Vishwaskumar was visiting India to meet his elder brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who was also travelling with him in the same aircraft.

“I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were bodies all around me,” Ramesh told Hindustan Times, adding that “there were pieces of the plane scattered everywhere.”

Mayday call from a height of 650 ft — moments before the crash

The aviation ministry said that the last message of the pilot before crashing was ‘Mayday’, adding that the flight had climbed 650 feet in the air before it started descending.

“According to ATC, when it tried to contact the Air India plane, it did not receive any response. Exactly after 1 minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport,” Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation Samir Kumar Sinha told reporters during a press conference.

IMA seeks ₹1 crore compensation each for doctors killed

Earlier in the day, Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to Air India, demanding ₹1 crore each to the doctors and people who lost their lives around the hostel.

The IMA president Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak also sought Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran to announce a package after conducting a survey for any student or resident who is injured or disabled.