Indian Army teams comprising of approximately 130 personnel have been deployed to assist civil administration in the ongoing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts, officials said on Thursday after a passenger flight crashed near the Ahmedabad airport earlier today, .
The response teams includes engineers with earth movers for debris clearance, medical teams comprising doctors and paramedics, Quick Action Teams (QATs), fire-fighting assets with fire extinguishers and water bowsers, and provost staff for site management, a statement from Indian Army said.
The Military hospital in the area has also been placed on standby, the Army said.
The Air India flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members while it crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport earlier this afternoon.
Western Railway said it has dispatched its Disaster Management Team, along with medical personnel and RPF staff, to assist the Gujarat government and other agencies involved in relief and rescue efforts.
The Gujarat government has mobilised three teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 90 personnel, from Gandhinagar to the crash site to aid rescue operations.
According to senior police officials, the aircraft crashed into a doctor’s hostel located just outside the airport perimeter.
“After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the … plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors’ hostel,” Jaipal Singh Rathore, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad told reporters.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the London-bound Air India flight crashed in the Meghani Nagar area of Ahmedabad following the takeoff at 01:38 pm. (ANI)
