AHMEDABAD: Families of those killed in last year&#39;s Air India plane crash gathered at the site on Friday to mark the anniversary of the disaster, still awaiting answers about its cause. On June 12, 2025, a Boeing 787 crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off in India&#39;s western city of Ahmedabad, killing 260 people in the deadliest air disaster for a decade. Indian authorities are expected to issue an interim report in the coming days, a source of frustration to the victims&#39; relatives, who had been expecting a final disclosure. Suresh Patni, a driver, came to the site where the plane exploded in a ball of flame, engulfing his teenage son Akash at his family&#39;s tea stall. &quot;We are here today only to remember him on his first death anniversary,&quot; Patni told AFP. &quot;He was a good student and could have done really well for himself.&quot; Patni commemorated Akash with a framed photograph and a life-size cutout, decorated with flowers and surrounded by scattered rose petals and lit lamps. The crash killed 241 people on board the plane and 19 people on the ground. Fragments of bags, clothes, and a melted shoe lie half-buried in the charred earth at the site, alongside dead trees with burned trunks.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/84369919-1c15-4b6a-97b0-f9990dd24712-AFP__20260611__B6QL39B__v3__MidRes__TopshotIndiaAviationAccidentAnniversary.jpg" alt="A woman holding a portrait of her relatives, who died in the Air India Flight 171 crash last year, breaks down while visiting the accident site in Ahmedabad on June 11, 2026. (AFP)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">A woman holding a portrait of her relatives, who died in the Air India Flight 171 crash last year, breaks down while visiting the accident site in Ahmedabad on June 11, 2026. (AFP)</figcaption></figure> &quot;It pains us when we hear an aeroplane flying overhead,&quot; Patni said, adding that their home was near the flight path of the airport in Ahmedabad, the main city in the state of Gujarat. &quot;Our house is still at the same location,&quot; he said. &quot;But we don&#39;t feel like staying here... we are reminded of the same faces and memories.&quot; &#39;Important for closure&#39;&nbsp;Nearby, a woman wept as she embraced a framed picture of her deceased relatives, while another family scattered rose petals at the ruins of the hostel in honor of their son. Relatives of the victims had expected a final report by Friday to explain why the disaster happened. But with investigations continuing, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to issue only an interim report. As required by international law, the AAIB published a preliminary report a month after the disaster. That 15-page document said the fuel supply to the jet&#39;s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error. It also published a conversation between the captain and his co-pilot about the fuel supply being cut off -- two brief sentences that sparked theories of pilot suicide. The report was met with strong criticism. It did not say why the fuel switches were turned off -- whether it was the fault of a pilot, or a result of a malfunction. Relatives of the victims are meeting at a conference organized by lawyers, along with aviation and air safety experts in Ahmedabad. They are due to hold a candlelight vigil after sunset. &quot;Why are authorities taking so much time to assess the crash?&quot; asked Nilesh Joshi, whose wife, Kaminiben Nilesh Joshi, was killed while returning home to Britain after attending a wedding in India. &quot;The release of the report is important for closure, for people like me who have lost their loved ones,&quot; Joshi, who had come from London to attend the conference, told AFP. Only one passenger survived, Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who has said he has &quot;significant psychological scars&quot; following the crash -- in which his brother died -- and &quot;constant unanswered questions&quot; about why it took place. Vijay Sengal still remembers the deafening sound when the plane came down. Sengal, a sanitation inspector at a nearby hospital, was one of the first to try to rescue the injured. &quot;When we tried to pick up bodies, the body wouldn&#39;t come... instead, it was someone&#39;s hand, someone&#39;s leg,&quot; he said. He said that he, like many others, avoids the area after dark, fearing it is haunted. &quot;We believe in gods and also in souls,&quot; he said. &quot;Those passengers sitting in the plane, maybe they still have some work stuck, their last wish still unfulfilled.&quot;

Family members of the crew of the Air India Flight 171 plane crash pay tribute during a memorial service on its first anniversary, in Mumbai on June 12, 2026 (AFP)

India

Indian authorities are expected to issue an interim report in the coming days, a source of frustration to the victims' relatives, who had been expecting a final disclosure. 

A year after deadly Air India crash, families await answers

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Friday commemorated the seventh anniversary of Operation Swift Retort at Air Headquarters, describing the 2019 mission as a defining moment in the country&rsquo;s modern air warfare doctrine. Addressing the ceremony, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu said Pakistan remained a responsible state that sought &ldquo;peace with honor,&rdquo; but would respond decisively to any challenge to its sovereignty.&nbsp; Sidhu recalled that seven years ago the aggressor had miscalculated Pakistan&rsquo;s resolve by attempting to violate its airspace under the cover of darkness, prompting what he described as a measured daylight response that restored deterrence against a numerically superior adversary. Highlighting evolving regional and global security dynamics, the air chief said that since March 2021, the PAF had pursued modernization and indigenization despite fiscal constraints, aiming to transform into a &ldquo;next generation air force.&rdquo;&nbsp; He said the service had recalibrated its operational doctrine and inducted advanced combat and support capabilities, including domestically developed unmanned systems, as well as electronic warfare, space, and cyber assets. &quot;These efforts had enabled the creation of a home-grown, multi-domain &#39;kill chain&#39; integrating air, cyber, and space capabilities for enhanced situational awareness and rapid response&quot;. Referring to &ldquo;Marka-e-Haq&rdquo; in May 2025, he reiterated that when Pakistan&rsquo;s sovereignty was again challenged, the PAF carried out full-spectrum multi-domain operations that overwhelmed the adversary. He cited the downing of advanced aircraft platforms and unmanned aerial systems, deep-strike missions inside hostile territory, and the neutralization of sophisticated air defence systems, including S-400 units and associated command and control centres. Reaffirming the force&rsquo;s commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty, the air chief said the PAF would remain vigilant and maintain a responsible but firm defense posture to ensure long-term stability and deterrence.

JF-17-Thunder (File/Pakistan Air Force official website)

Security

Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu said the Pakistan Air Force has strengthened deterrence through modernization and indigenization since 2019, highlighting expanded multi-domain capabilities and reaffirming readiness to safeguard national sovereignty amid evolving regional security challenges.

Articles tagged with "Anniversary"

A year after deadly Air India crash, families await answers

Pakistan Air Force marks 7th anniversary of Operation Swift Retort

A year after deadly Air India crash, families await answers