India plane crash death toll rises to at least 279

THE death toll from the fiery crash of a London-bound passenger jet in an Indian city climbed to 279 yesterday as officials sought to match the DNA of victims with their grieving relatives.

- 

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings. A police source said yesterday that 279 bodies had been found at the crash site in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, making it one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century.

“Nobody can fill the void left by loss,” said Imtiyaz Ali, whose younger brother boarded the plane. “I can’t even begin to explain what's going on inside me,” he said.

There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff.