New Delhi, June 13, (dpa/GNA) ā The probe into the crash of the Air India jetliner with more than 240 dead, took a crucial turn on Friday with the recovery of the flight recorder from among the wreckage.
“This marks an important step forward in the investigation,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu wrote on X.
The Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport in the city of Ahmedabad, shortly after departing for London on Thursday.
According to the airline, 241 of 242 people on board were killed. It is still unclear how many people were killed in the residential area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site in the north-west of the country on Friday. According to Indian media reports, he visited a man in hospital, who is believed to be the only survivor from the plane.
According to the airline, the man, a British national of Indian origin, was sitting near an emergency exit in the eleventh row of seats when the aircraft went down.
“The scene of devastation is saddening,” Modi said on X, calling the crash an “unimaginable tragedy.”
The aviation minister did not mention the voice recorder, which is also carried on planes and records the conversations in the cockpit. Both devices are referred to as black boxes.
According to Air India, the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian.
The British Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced that it would be sending a team to India. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing also said it was prepared to support the investigation.
GNA