Marcos: PH condoles with India over air crash
President Marcos on Thursday extended his sympathies to India following the tragic crash of an Air India flight with 242 passengers onboard in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad.
“Filipinos are deeply saddened by the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad. On behalf of the Filipino people, I extend our most heartfelt condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India, and especially to the families and loved ones of all those who lost their lives,” Mr. Marcos said on his official social media accounts.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in a residential area and exploded on Thursday, shortly before takeoff. One passenger survived, according to Reuters.
“Our thoughts are with every family, across India and beyond, grieving this profound loss. We stand in full solidarity with the people of India in this moment of sorrow,” he said.
“May the victims be remembered with dignity and may the ongoing efforts to understand this tragedy bring comfort and clarity to those left behind,” he added.
Continues search
Rescue workers, meanwhile, continue to search for missing people and aircraft parts in the charred buildings of a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad on Friday after the Thursday plane crash that is now considered the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Only one passenger survived after it crashed onto the hostel during lunch hour, causing deaths on the ground as well, which local media has put as high as 24. Reuters could not immediately verify the number.
Rescue workers had completed combing the crash site and were now searching for missing people and bodies in the buildings as well as for aircraft parts that could help explain why the plane crashed soon after taking off.
Prime Minister Modi was briefed by officials on the progress of rescue operations when he visited the crash site in his home state of Gujarat on Friday. Modi also met some of the injured being treated in the hospital.
Residents living in the vicinity said that construction of the hostel for resident doctors was completed only a year ago and the buildings were not fully occupied.
Also on Friday, Reuters, quoting airport authorities, reported that an Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat and made an emergency landing on the island.
All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 had been escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, Airports of Thailand official (AOT) told Reuters.
The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.
The incident follows the crash of Air India Flight AI-171 on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.
AOT did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023. —WITH A REPORT FROM REUTERS
