Staff Reporter

Imphal, June 12: Two cabin crew members from Manipur — Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam and Lamnunthem Singson — were among those who lost their lives in the tragic Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

Lamnunthem belonged to the Kuki community and was displaced by the violence. Nganthoi Sharma, from the Meitei community, also has her family in deep distress. A family member said they were too upset to speak.

The aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain (LTC) with over 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

Apart from Nganthoi and Lamnunthem, the cabin crew included senior members Shradha Dhavan and Aparna Mahadik, along with Saineeta Chakravarti, Deepak Pathak, Maithili Patil, Irfan Shaikh, Roshni Songhare Rajendra, and Manisha Thapa.

A few hours ago, Air India confirmed that its flight AI171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in “an accident” shortly after takeoff.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 pm with 242 passengers and crew members on board. Among them were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national, and seven Portuguese nationals.

The aircraft reportedly crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel, located adjacent to the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. The incident occurred around lunchtime when the hostel’s mess area was crowded with medical students.

Meanwhile, Local MLA Surjakumar Okram visited Sharma’s home and said they were still waiting for official confirmation on her status.

Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh also posted on X and said, “I am deeply shocked and grieved by the tragic Air India flight crash near Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”