Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was killed in the Air India flight AI-171 crash that occurred on Thursday afternoon shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, media reports said.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down in the Meghani Nagar area, a densely populated neighbourhood near the airport.

Rupani was among the 242 people on board. Unverified reports indicate he was listed as passenger number 12 on the flight manifest and had booked a seat in Z class, part of Business Class.

Senior BJP leader and two-term CM

Vijaybhai Ramniklalbhai Rupani was a prominent BJP leader and served as Gujarat’s 16th Chief Minister from 2016 to 2021, completing two consecutive terms.

He also represented the Rajkot West constituency as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Rupani is survived by his wife and two children.

The family had previously lost their youngest son, Pujit, in an accident. In his memory, they founded the Pujit Rupani Memorial Trust, which supports various charitable causes.

No survivors in crash

The ill-fated Air India flight took off at around 1:38 PM and crashed five minutes later. It was en route to London Gatwick and was operated by Captain Sumit Sabharwal, with Clive Kunder as co-pilot.

Onboard were 230 adults, 2 infants, and 12 crew members, bringing the total to 242.

Emergency response teams were immediately dispatched and rescue efforts are ongoing.