Gujarat govt to seek Rs 2.70 cr from Air India for loss of resident doctors' properties in plane crash

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government will seek Rs 2.70 crore from Air India for the loss of belongings of resident doctors after its London-bound flight crashed into the hostel of a medical college in Ahmedabad last week, a state minister said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference in Gandhinagar, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, who is also the government spokesperson, said the state has not decided yet on the issue of providing compensation to those who were killed on the ground after the plane crash, including four MBBS students.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171) flight with 242 passengers and crew members on board crashed into a hostel and canteen of the B J Medical College in Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad in the afternoon on June 12. Apart from 241 persons on board the flight, 29 on the ground were killed in the incident.

"As per our assessment, properties (personal belongings) of Rs 2.70 crore of resident doctors (who used to live in the hostel at the time of plane crash) were damaged. We will claim that from Air India," he said.

"The Ministry of Civil Aviation along with various other central government agencies are probing the plane crash and the state government does not have any role in the ongoing investigation," Patel said.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet, he said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the entire cabinet offered tributes to those who had lost their lives in the June 12 plane crash in Ahmedabad during the meet.

The state government also sent a condolence message to the family members of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, a victim of the plane crash, he said.