Death toll rises to 274 in Air India plane crash: media

Alsharq Tribune-M-Essam 

The death toll from Thursday's Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat has risen to 274, with 33 on-ground deaths having been confirmed, The Times of India daily reported on Saturday.

The casualty count increasing beyond the 241 passengers and crew confirmed dead in the crash suggested that the other 33 victims were likely people on the campus of Ahmedabad's BJ Medical College, said the report.

The Hindustan Times reported on Saturday that the Indian government has formed a high-level committee to probe the Air India crash, which will be headed by the home secretary and will have representatives, not below the rank of joint secretary, from the state and central governments. The Committee will publish its report within three months.

Air India's flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, flying from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad to London, crashed on Thursday shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board with only one survivor.