Zürcher Nachrichten - India plane crash death toll rises to 279

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.

On Saturday, a police source said that 279 bodies had been recovered from the crash site in the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad, one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century.

There was 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.

At least 38 people were killed on the ground.

"I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time," said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit before boarding the Air India flight.

"And now, there is nothing," he said, breaking down in tears. "Whatever the gods wanted has happened."

- Search for black box -

Distraught relatives of passengers have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad, with some having to fly to India to help the process.

The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.

Those killed ranged from a top politician to a teenage tea seller.

The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said even he could not explain how he survived.

"Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed.

Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Friday that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would "significantly aid" investigations.

Forensic teams are still looking for the second black box, as they probe why the plane crashed after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground.

US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood "ready to support them" over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.

Ch.Siegenthaler--NZN