Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party has postponed all of their party functions and events in tribute to the victims of the plane crash which happened earlier on Thursday, party's chief Akhilesh Yadav said. "Tribute to everyone who lost their lives in the very tragic accident in Ahmedabad! In this hour of grief, all of us are with every bereaved family. All the functions of SP will remain postponed for the next 3 days," Yadav posted on X. Similarly, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has also cancelled all his programmes scheduled for Friday, June 13, following the incident. Sharing his condolences, CM Yadav said, "I am deeply distressed by this tragedy, and the entire nation is mourning this loss." The London-bound flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after it took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport this afternoon, and rammed into a doctors' hostel in the Meghani Nagar area in Ahmedabad. Goa government has also declared a day of state mourning following the crash. After the crash, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has deployed around 150 personnel to assist in the ongoing rescue and relief operations following the crash. Similarly, the Army is also assisting the local administration, with engineers and medical team deployed to help the injured and help clear the debris. Former Gujarat CM, Vijay Rupani was also among one of the people onboard the plane. President Droupadi Murmu expressed grief over his demise. "The loss of lives after the plane crash at Ahmedabad is utterly devastating. My heart goes out to the bereaved families. The country has also lost the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani Ji in the tragedy. Rupani Ji was always committed to people's welfare. I express my heartfelt condolences to his family and admirers," the President wrote on X. Vijay Rupani was twice the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021. Rupani was also appointed the BJP's in-charge for Punjab. The aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an LTC with 8,200 hours of flying experience. He was assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience, the official said. As per Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Runway 23 at 1339 IST (0809 UTC).
