AHMEDABAD: Salvage teams scouring the debris of flight AI 171 found the black box of the crashed 787-8 Dreamliner and 29 more bodies on Friday, taking the toll to 274 and expanding the scale of the worst single-aircraft disaster in the history of Indian aviation.The casualty count increasing beyond the 241 passengers and crew confirmed dead in the crash suggested that the other 33 victims were likely people on the campus of Ahmedabad’s BJ Medical College – possibly doctors, their family members, medical students, workers and others in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood.The black box was found on the rooftop of the students’ mess in the medical college campus, Joint Commissioner of police (Sector 1) Neeraj Badgujar said. The aircraft’s emergency location transmitter was found on Thursday night.
Search operations overnight were focused on the campus buildings that bore the brunt of the crash and the nearby areas. “We have sent 319 body parts, including complete and partial remains, for DNA matching to confirm the victims’ identities,” a state govt official said.Besides 241 victims on board, the confirmed casualties till the discovery of more bodies were three doctors and the pregnant wife of a neurosurgery resident. A fourth ‘doctor’, identified as MBBS student Jay Prakash Chaudhary, was reported missing. His body was identified by his family on Friday. Black box recovered from roof of medical college buildingAuthorities probing the AI 171 crash recovered the aircraft’s black box on Friday, more than 28 hours after the accident took place. Also read: Air India plane crash: Government forms high-powered panel led by Union home secretary to probe AI 171 crThe black box, which includes the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), was found on the rooftop of the UG & PG mess building at BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar. The aircraft had crashed into the hostel and mess Thursday afternoon, minutes after departing from Ahmedabad airport. The State Disaster Response Force had found the aircraft’s Emergency Locator Transmitter on Thursday night.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) confirmed the discovery. Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced the recovery of the black box on social media, adding that it would be of significant help in determining the cause of the accident.Meanwhile, Ahmedabad city police registered a case of accidental death at Meghaninagar police station and began an investigation. According to police, the first call about the crash and fire was received at 1.44pm on Thursday. The crash occurred at the Old IGP Campus, which houses residential blocks for MBBS students and resident doctors from BJ Medical College, affiliated with the Civil Hospital.Officials said most passengers and crew had been charred beyond recognition. Their remains were transported to the Civil Hospital. The fire also resulted in casualties among residents of the hostel buildings. However, the govt was yet to reveal those figures.Central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, visited the crash site on Friday. While foul play has not been ruled out, the focus remained on gathering flight data and evidence to understand the technical and/or human factors that may have caused the crash.
