Air India crash: Indian-origin businessman promises $695K to families of medical students killed in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad plane crash: After the horrifying Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, an Indian-origin businessman in UAE has pledged to donate ₹6 crore ($695K) to the families of the students who died in this tragedy after the plane crashed into a medical college. Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, the son-in-law of MA Yusuff Ali (owner of the retail conglomerate LuLu Group International), took to the social media platform X and expressed his grief on the death of four students who died in the crash while having lunch at the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad.

“They were future frontline heroes. Manav, Aaryan, Rakesh, and Jaiprakash were preparing to save lives, not lose their own. The AI171 crash took them from us. Pledging ₹6 crore to support their families and others affected,” Vayalil wrote in his post.

“Having lived in medical hostels, the images felt painfully familiar. This gesture is personal. It stands with the students who never got to serve, and with the families now carrying their memories forward,” he added in a series of posts.

The four students were among the people who died when a London-bound flight of Air India lost its control within a few seconds of take-off and crashed into the college.

In the aircraft, 242 people were onboard - 230 passengers, 10 crew members and 2 pilots. Among all, just a single passenger, named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, was found alive.

Ramesh's survival is being seen as nothing less than a miracle after 241 people - 229 passengers, 10 crew members and two pilots - died after the Air India aircraft lost its balance within seconds of take-off and crashed into a medical college building in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Several medical student and their relatives were reported dead.

The rescue operation is still on, and so far, 80 people have been identified via DNA test, including the former CM of Gujarat - Vijay Rupani.