Rescue and relief work is under way at the site of the Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. Photo: CRPF via PTI
The bodies retrieved from the B.J. Medical College premises where the London-bound Air India plane crashed on Thursday (June 12, 2025) were charred, making it difficult to determine if they were children or adults, paramilitary officials involved in the rescue operation told The Hindu.
Police Commissioner G.S Malik told The Hindu that 204 bodies were recovered from the crash site, and 41 injured persons were rushed to the hospital. He said the DNA and blood samples of the deceased were being preserved for identification.
Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crash: Updates
“The chances of survivors may be there, we cannot say anything at this point,” Mr. Malik said.
He said the total number of people present at the medical college at the time of the incident is not known yet.
“We must have pulled out around 200 bodies. They were charred beyond recognition, some bodies were dismembered. Due to the impact of the fire, the bodies had shrunk. We wrapped them in yards of white cloth brought in by the local administration, and put them in ambulances,” an officer from one of the CAPFs said.
Hundreds of CAPF personnel drawn from the Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army were pressed into rescue and relief work at the crash site on Thursday.
The CAPFs posted in Gujarat, including the medical units, were mobilised to help the civil administration in rescue work and crowd management.
The dining hall of the medical college that was damaged in the plane crash on June 12, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
“A part of the plane crashed into the medical college’s dining area where students were having lunch. Soon a huge ball of fire erupted and engulfed the residential buildings nearby which housed families of resident doctors. We saw sarees dangling from several balconies, indicating the occupants would have tried to escape the fire by jumping from the buildings,” said another CAPF official.
The plane crashed at 1.38 p.m. on Thursday into the B.J Medical College in Meghaninagar. Other residential buildings were also affected. A CCTV footage of the incident at Ahmedabad airport showed that the plane crashed in less than 40 seconds after taking off.
Indian Army teams comprising 130 personnel were deployed and excavators were moved in to clear the debris.
‘Horrific site’
“It was a horrific site. We could find no survivors. All we were doing was pulling out bodies from the rubble. We found carcasses of several cats and dogs too,” said the CAPF official.
Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to Ahmedabad soon after the incident.
“Pained beyond words by the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad. Disaster response forces have been quickly rushed to the crash site. Spoke with the Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Home Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi, and Commissioner of Police Ahmedabad to assess the situation,” he posted on X. He visited the injured persons at the Civil Hospital and later reviewed the rescue operations.
The London-bound plane had 242 passengers and crew on board. It included “169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals”, said a statement from Air India.
Published – June 12, 2025 10:39 pm IST