Ahmedabad plane crash: Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani's funeral with full state honours today

Rupani, who remained the CM from 2016 to 2021, was among the 242 passengers and crew who were onboard the ill-fated Air India aircraft which crashed on a residential quarters of a medical college hostel soon after takeoff in Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad.

All but one who were in the aircraft died. One person, the passenger of seat No. 11A,  survived the crash miraculously.

Ramesh, a British-Indian who was returning to the UK after a visit to India, is the lone survivor in the mishap.

In total, over 270 people died including the people on ground.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site last Friday, met Rupani's family members.

Paying his tribute to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, PM Modi said that the former CM was a humble and hardworking person and firmly committed to the party's ideology.

"Met the family of Shri Vijaybhai Rupani Ji. It is unimaginable that Vijaybhai is not in our midst. I've known him for decades. We worked together, shoulder to shoulder, including during some of the most challenging times. Vijaybhai was humble and hardworking, firmly committed to the Party's ideology," the Prime Minister wrote in a post on X.

The central government has formed a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes that led to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport in London.

Need to do extended surveillance into Boeing 787 Series, says Civil Aviation Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday acknowledged the need for an "extended surveillance into Boeing 787 Series" aircraft in the aftermath of the plane crash that killed 279 including on-ground people.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Naidu said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already given its order for "extended surveillance for the 787 planes".

"We have very strict safety standards in the country...When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes.

"There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done...," the minister said.