Indian Army Lead Rescue Efforts After Air India Crash In Ahmedabad

Medical and rescue teams from the Indian Army were among the first responders deployed after an Air India flight crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday (June 12) afternoon.

Approximately 130 Indian Army personnel have been deployed to assist civil administration in the ongoing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts.

Indian Army’s engineering teams with JCBs for debris clearance, medical teams comprising doctors and paramedics, Quick Action Teams (QATs), fire-fighting assets with fire extinguishers and water bowsers, as well as provost staff for site management were a part of the rescue and relief efforts.

Military Hospitals had also been put on standby in anticipation of rise in number of injured people’s admittance.

The swift military mobilisation supported civil authorities in evacuation, trauma care, and fire containment efforts at the site.

The Indian Army at the cantonment in Ahmedabad had to break open its boundary wall so that easy access to the site of the crash could be achieved, as at present, from the civil area, there is a narrow road available towards the crash site, sources in the know of the matter said.

The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating as Air India Flight 171 and bound for London, was carrying 242 people, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. The crash occurred near the Meghaninagar area, close to the airport.

Visuals from the site showed thick black smoke rising from the wreckage as at least seven fire engines and multiple emergency teams, including armed forces personnel, worked to control the blaze and rescue survivors.

Military medics were deployed to assist with critical care, underscoring the Indian Armed Forces’ key role in national emergency response

The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar.