Indian minister confirms former Gujarat chief minister's killing in London-bound plane crash

NEW DELHI -- A minister in the Indian government has confirmed the killing of former Gujarat chief minister and a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vijay Rupani in Thursday's London-bound Air India flight crash in the western state.

This seems to be the first official confirmation of the death in the Air India flight with 242 people on board that crashed immediately after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat.

As per Air India, there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on board at the time of the crash, besides two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.

"Our leader and former Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, was going to meet his family. He is also a victim in this incident. This is a big loss for the BJP," C R Patil, India's federal water resources minister told reporters.

The 68-year-old Rupani was the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat and served the state from August 2016 to September 2021.