Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 13 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao paid tribute to those who were killed in the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad a day earlier and said that the State government and the Centre are providing the necessary help.

Speaking to ANI, Dy CM Sao said, 'The whole country is saddened by this incident. It is a very painful accident. Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani has died in this incident. I pay my tribute to all the deceased and express condolences to their families. The state government and the central government are providing all possible help.'

Sharing an X post on Thursday, Sao paid a tribute to ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, who lost his life in the plane crash. Sharing Rupani's picture, Arun Sao wrote, 'Tearful tribute. Om Shanti.'

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Dy CM Vijay Sharma on Friday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the incident.

'May God give strength to the families of the deceased... I am deeply saddened that Vijay Rupani is no more. This is a matter of learning why all this happened,' Sharma told ANI.

The AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday. The airlines said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.

The Air India flight to London crashed soon after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport, into a medical college complex in Meghaninagar nearby.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India.

A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday. (ANI)