England and India players paid tribute to victims of the Ahmedabad Air India crash with a minute’s silence and black armbands before the 1st Test at Headingley, honouring the 241 lives lost in the tragedy that deeply impacted both nations.
England and Team India players wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence to honour the victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad before the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley in Leeds on Friday, June 20.
On June 12, an Air India flight, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was scheduled to fly to Gatwick Airport in London from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, reportedly carrying 242 on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. However, shortly after takeoff, the flight crashed into the hostel of BJ Medical College in the Meghani area.
It was reported that the flight took off at 1:38 pm, and five minutes later, it crashed into a nearby hostel, causing an explosion and fire. 241 passengers, including the former Gujarat chief minister, Vijay Rupani, were feared dead. An Indian-origin UK citizen survived the horrific crash that shook not just India but also the entire world.
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England and India players pay tribute to the victims
Ahead of Day 1 of the first Test at Headingley, England and India players assembled at the centre of the field along with the match officials to observe a minute's silent tribute to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash.
The crowd at Headingley too stood in silence and paid their respects, creating a poignant and sombre atmosphere to honour the Ahmedabad plane crash victims. England and India players decided to wear the black armbands as an honour to the people who lost their lives in the tragedy. A similar gesture was shown by South Africa and Australia players ahead of Day 3 of the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.
The tragic Air India plane crash sent shockwaves across the world, leaving the families devastated and prompting an outpouring of grief and solidarity from the international community.
In a tragic Air India crash, 169 Indian nationals and 53 UK citizens, 1 Canadian national, and 7 Portuguese nationals lost their lives, as per the statement by Air India. This is one of the deadliest aviation tragedies in recent Indian history.
The aircraft was being flown by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, with First Officer Clive Kundar as the co-pilot. Captain Sabharwal is a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience. Officials also said that the co-pilot had 1,100 hours of flying experience
India dressing room heartbroken by the Air India tragedy
Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Headingley, the newly-appointed vice-captain Rishabh Pant was asked about the Ahmedabad plane crash. To which he responded that the whole nation was heartbroken by the tragedy, while admitting that the emotions would be high following the horrific crash.
“See, what happened in the aircraft—I think the whole of India was saddened, disheartened. At the same time, the only thing from our side is, we are going to be sticking to them, how we can make India happy again.” Pant said.
“Obviously, emotions are going to be high because of what happened in the crash. But at the same time, we want to put our best foot forward for the country,” he added.
Team India is playing their first international match since the horrific Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.