Ahmedabad air crash: Flashback to India's famous personalities who lost their lives to air tragedies
Take a look at famous Indians who lost their lives to air crash. (Image used for representative purpose only).
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CDS General Bipin Rawat (2021)
Homi Bhabha (1966)
KS Sowmya aka Soundarya (2004)
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YS Rajasekhara Reddy (2009)
Dorjee Khandu (2011)
OP Jindal and Surender Singh (2005)
Madhavrao Scindia (2001)
Sanjay Gandhi (1980)
GMC Balayogi (2002)
Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam (1973)
Lt Gen Daulat Singh, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, AVM EW Pinto (1963)
An Air India plane bound for London crashed during takeoff at Ahmedabad airport, leaving the nation shocked. As authorities probe the cause and manage the aftermath, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken with Gujarat's Chief Minister, Home Minister, and the Police Commissioner following the plane crash incident. He has assured full support and assistance from the Central government in managing the situation.Amid this, it's hard not to recall similar air tragedies that have claimed the lives of some of India's most prominent figures — from political heavyweights and war heroes to cultural icons. Here's a look at those heartbreaking losses.India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, tragically died in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021. The incident occurred near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu while he was en route from Sulur to Wellington with his wife and 11 others.India's pioneering nuclear physicist Homi Jehangir Bhabha died in a tragic crash aboard Air India Flight 101 on January 24, 1966. The plane crashed into Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps due to miscommunication with Geneva air traffic control.Beloved South Indian actress Soundarya, whose real name was KS Sowmya, lost her life in an air crash on April 17, 2004. The Sooryavansham actress was flying from Bengaluru to Karimnagar with her brother. The crash devastated fans across the Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam film industries.Popularly known as YSR, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh died on September 2, 2009, when his Bell 430 helicopter crashed in the dense Nallamala forest due to bad weather.Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was flying in a Pawan Hans helicopter on April 30, 2011, when it lost contact with ground control. After a five-day search, the wreckage was found in Tawang.Industrialist and Haryana Power Minister OP Jindal, along with Agriculture Minister Surender Singh, died in a helicopter crash in March 2005. Their King Cobra chopper was en route from Delhi to Chandigarh when it crashed in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur.Former Railways Minister Madhavrao Scindia died on September 30, 2001, in a plane crash en route to a political rally in Kanpur. The 10-seater private aircraft crashed due to poor weather conditions near Manipuri, Uttar Pradesh.A key figure in the Congress party and son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi died in a tragic crash on June 23, 1980. Attempting aerial stunts in a Delhi Flying Club aircraft near Safdarjung Airport, the aircraft lost control and crashed.As the 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha, GMC Balayogi was one of the most respected leaders in Parliament. His life was cut short on March 3, 2002, when the Bell 206 helicopter carrying him crashed in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district.On May 31, 1973, former Lok Sabha MP Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam died in the crash of Indian Airlines Flight 440 in Delhi. He was identified only by a Parker pen and a hearing aid.The Poonch air crash on November 23, 1963, took the lives of six senior Indian armed forces officers, including Lieutenant General Daulat Singh, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, and Air Vice Marshal EW Pinto. The helicopter crash occurred during an inspection flight.
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