Ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani dies in Ahmedabad plane crash: CR Paatil

Air India Plane Crash, Vijay Rupani Death News: The flight was carrying 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national, apart from two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.

Vijay Rupani Death News: Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani died on Thursday after an Air India aircraft carrying him and 241 others crashed near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport airport in Ahmedabad in the afternoon, Union Minister of Jal Shakti and Gujarat BJP President CR Paatil announced on Thursday evening.

A BJP leader, Rupani served as the chief minister of Gujarat from 2016 till 2021, after winning the Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections from Rajkot seat.

The London-bound flight AI 171, which Rupani took on Monday, was carrying 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national, apart from two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.

Operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the flight took off around 1.47 pm, slightly delayed from its scheduled time, and went down just 9 minutes after being given clearance for take-off. Visuals of the accident, now being shared widely across social media, showed the flight crashing down and bursting into flames behind a cluster of concrete buildings in Ahmedabad.