'They are not letting us go in' — Anxious families of Air India plane crash victims gather outside Ahmedabad hospital

A London-bound Air India aircraft departed from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, and within minutes, crashed into Meghani Nagar, located just 15 kilometres away from the airport. The plane was carrying 242 people on board, who included 230 passengers, among whom former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also present. 

After the crash, the injured were taken to Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital, where family members of the crash victims have gathered in large numbers. A man outside the hospital in Ahmedabad is heard saying, “My sister and brother-in-law are both inside, but they are not letting us go in...They were going to London...My niece is in London, and they were going to see her. She called me up from London to say that her parents were on the flight, and then I rushed here…"

In the video, the man is heard saying that they were not here to roam around, but to visit their family members, but the authorities are not willing to let them in. 

In another visual, a man broke down completely and requested hospital and police authorities on the premises to let him see his loved ones.

Another ANI video on X shows an anxious neighbour of an AI-171 passenger waiting outside the Civil Hospital. The video's caption reads, "A neighbour of an AI-171 passenger waits outside the Civil Hospital. She says, "My neighbour's daughter was on the flight. We don't have any update on her yet as we are not being allowed to go inside."

Air India has meanwhile released a new hotline for foreign nationals who wish to enquire about their loved ones flying onboard the crashed Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad. The post reads, "In addition to the dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444, we have added another hotline number for foreign nationals +91 8062779200.