The Air India plane crash which is reported to have claimed almost all the lives of those on board has sent "shockwaves through city", a local broadcaster has claimed.
Speaking to GB News, Preya Maniar told Good Afternoon Britain that one of the passengers on board the flight was former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
Air India confirmed there were 169 Indian, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese passengers on board at the time of the crash.
Police has also said the flight, carrying more than 240 passengers, crashed into a hostel building for doctors.
Reports claim there appears to one survivor of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad
Reuters
Sharing more details on the ground in Ahmedabad, Maniar said the crash has caused "more casualties than ever imagined", with locals "still in shock" at the tragedy.
Maniar told GB News: "Today's Air India crash has sent shockwaves through the city. What I can tell you from being based here is that emergency updates are flooding in every minute, and hospitals and everybody has been asking around for blood donations across the city, because there have been more casualties than we could have ever imagined.
"There's a noticeable rise in activity around the airport zone and social media channels here are full of distressing footage and local appeals for blood donation support."
Discussing the aftermath of the crash, Maniar claimed that there are "investigations under way" to determine the cause of the incident.
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The flight was headed to London Gatwick from the city of AhmedabadXManiar explained: "The aircraft was reportedly attempting an emergency landing when the crash occurred, and authorities including the DGCA and NFS and rescue teams, they are now on the site with three more on the way, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
"While the full scale of this tragedy is still unfolding, we're still yet to know how many people are dead, how many are not. There is a palpable sense of fear and grief across Ahmedabad tonight."
Discussing the passengers on board the craft, Maniar claimed that local media has confirmed the death of a former senior politician in Gujarat, former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
Maniar said: "The update we also had is our former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was on the flight as well, and unfortunately he's passed away, and that's the only confirmed update for now that I can give you.
Maniar told GB News that there are 'more casualties than could ever be imagined'
GB News
"Unfortunately, it's such heartbreaking news for the entire city as well as the nation today, this is just an unfortunate tragedy that we all have been suffering."
Maniar concluded: "And people are still in shock, especially because the flight was literally boarded, and within the two minutes of it being off the ground, it crashed.
"There are approximately around 50 doctors in that hostel that either they are injured or maybe there's a chance that they could also be dead, but no news is confirmed yet.
"Everything is still unfolding because people are shocked, there are so many people at this hospital and they are completely full of people still figuring out what is going on and how many people are dead and how many of them are injured.
"But definitely there are way too many casualties and we could have possibly imagined."
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