Ahmedabad: Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, stated that the overwhelming heat caused by 1.25 lakh litres of jet fuel originating from Air India budget airline Flight AI171, which landed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, 2025, made it impossible for anyone to save lives. He travelled to the site and hospital just a few hours after the tragedy.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating Air India Flight AI171 to London’s Gatwick Airport departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad at 1:38 p.m., and minutes later, it plunged into the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood, hitting a doctors’ hostel at BJ Medical College. The plane, carrying 242 people (230 passengers and 12 crew), exploded on impact, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 individuals, including both passengers and people in nearby buildings.
Amit Shah said this while speaking to reporters after visiting the site of the crash. The huge fuel load (1.25 lakh litres) of the aircraft exploded, generating high temperatures which hampered rescue.” Shah said, “Emergency services were immediately conducted by the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force and fire brigades, and many attempts were made to bring the fire under control, but it was a challenge to contain it, as it was very wild.
At Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Shah also visited the only verified survivor, 40-year-old British-Indian Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. The crash site, with the tail of the plane protruding from the hostel building, remained a rescue area well into the evening. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started an investigation into the cause, which is currently unknown.
Shah told reporters that the scale of the tragedy was massive, as there were 125,000 litres of fuel inside the plane, and it caught heat. There was no chance of around 200 people being saved. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik reports the recovery of 204 bodies, but DNA verification will determine the final toll.
On board were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese; and one Canadian. Vijay Rupani, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, was also one of the victims, as per Union Minister C.R. Patil. The impact from the hostel left three MBBS students dead, according to the Indian Medical Association of Gujarat, and 45 other students were said to have been hospitalised.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the crash “beyond heartbreaking”, asked Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu to supervise rescue operations. Air India also announced a helpline (1800 5691 444) and organised relief flights for family members of victims.
While investigations launch into the cause of the Ahmedabad crash, Shah’s comments come as the country mourns the 200+ lives lost in what ranks as one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters and calls for answers to the damage.