Ahmedabad plane crash: From hope to heartbreak as families mourn the devastating loss

Tears, silence, and prayers filled the air as people awaited news about missing relatives

Last updated: June 13, 2025 | 10:00

Devadasan K P, Chief Visual Editor

2 MIN READ

Kalpesh Bhai breaks down outside the autopsy room in Ahmedabad, mourning the loss of his 14-year-old brother, who perished in the Air India crash that devastated a neighbourhood on June 13, 2025. In the aftermath of the tragic Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad, haunting images have emerged capturing the deep sorrow and anguish of families who lost loved ones. The crash of AI-171, bound for London Gatwick, claimed 241 lives, leaving only one survivor.

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Women mourn as the bodies of their relatives, killed the previous day after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area, are taken out of a hospital mortuary in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025. Rescue teams with sniffer dogs combed the crash site on June 13 of a London-bound passenger jet which ploughed into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and the ground.

AFP

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Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

AFP

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Women mourn as the bodies of their relatives, killed the previous day after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area, are taken out of a hospital mortuary in Ahmedabad on June 13, 2025.

AFP

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Family members of one of the crew members of Air India flight 171 mourn at their residence in Thoubal Mayai Leikai near Imphal in the Indian state of Manipur.

AFP

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Family members of victims of an airplane that crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, wait for DNA test at a civil hospital on Friday, June 13, 2025.

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Investigators have started combing the wreckage of Air India flight AI171 as they seek to determine what caused the Boeing Co. Dreamliner to crash shortly after takeoff Thursday afternoon, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard in the deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade.

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The accident site is a scene of total devastation, with burnt debris and scattered aircraft parts still smoldering. The BJ Medical Hostel, where medical students were dining at the time of the accident, has been severely damaged, with four tower blocks half-burnt and blackened. Firefighters continue to spray water on the site, while police and officials work to clear the wreckage.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly visited the crash site on Friday morning.

AFP