15062025-TTB-01.qxd 6/15/2025 12:21 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 164 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA S AFRICA BEAT OZ, WIN MAIDEN WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP SPORT AT 25, INDIA’S TEST CAPTAIN BEARS GREAT DUTY SPECTRUM PM’S CYPRUS VISIT AIMED AT SENDING MESSAGE TO TURKIYE BACK PAGE sunday | 15 june 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Multi-agency panel to probe crash, submit findings in three months; toll mounts to 270 Black box being decoded| DNA tests underway to identify victims Mishap sparks scrutiny of 787s, AI inspects 9 jets UJWAL JALALI IN AHMEDABAD The death toll in Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad rose to 270 on Saturday even as the Centre formed a highlevel probe panel led by the Union Home Secretary. The committee, tasked with determining the cause of the London-bound flight’s disaster, will submit its findings within three months. The aircraft’s black box was currently being decoded, officials said. Tribune News Service AHMEDABAD TRAGEDY The ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people on board, crashed just minutes after takeoff for London Gatwick, nosediving into the students’ hostel of BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar, about 2 km from the runway. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, in the first official briefing on the crash, revealed that the last communication from the cockpit came at 1.39 pm on June 12, a distress call of “Mayday”, after which all contact was lost with Air Traffic Control. Within An investigation team inspects the wreckage of the Air India plane. MANAS RANJAN BHUI IN AHMEDABAD AIR INDIA VOWS ~25L INTERIM AID NSG TEAM DEPLOYED AT CRASH SITE Air India has said it will provide an interim payment of ~25 lakh each to the families of the deceased of the Ahmedabad plane crash. This is in addition to the ~1 crore compensation already announced by the parent company, Tata Sons, the airline said. Apart from central and state agencies, a team of the National Security Guard (NSG) has been deployed at the plane crash site in Ahmedabad. It will assist other agencies in relief operations and will not have any investigative powers, officials said. a minute, the plane plummeted from 650 feet and crashed. “The aircraft had taken off at 1.39 pm. Shortly after reaching 650 feet, it began losing altitude. The ATC tried to re-establish contact but received no response,” Sinha said. Captain Sumit Sabharwal and first officer Clive Sundar were piloting the aircraft. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) recovered the black Rafale maker junks Pak claim of downing 3 jets R’sthan boy tops NEET, Barnala’s Keshav seventh Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 Rajasthan’s Mahesh Kumar secured All-India Rank 1 while Utkarsh Awadhiya from Madhya Pradesh bagged the second rank in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEETUG) 2025, whose results were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday. Among females, Avika Aggarwal from Delhi (NCT) topped the medical entrance exam by bagging the fifth rank. Barnala’s Keshav Mittal and Karnal’s Arsh Gandhi made their respective states proud by securing AIR 7 and 11, respectively. The list of 100 toppers include 14 from Delhi, 11 from Rajasthan, seven from Punjab, two from Haryana and one from Chandigarh. A total of 22.09 lakh candidates took the NEET(UG) on May 4, of which 12.36 lakh qualified the exam — 7.2 lakh females and 5.14 lakh males. Among the qualifying candidates are 529 foreign nationals, 405 NRIs and 606 OCI card holders. The highest number of REWARI ACE Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier has rubbished Pakistan’s claim of having downed three of the Indian Air Force Rafale jets, calling it “inaccurate”. The remarks by the top official of the jet manufacturer came in an interview to a European publication, ahead of the Paris Air Show (June 16-22). Trappier was referring to the recent skirmishes between India and Pakistan (May 7-10). Asked whether India’s loss of at least one Rafale jet had raised questions in the defence circles, Trappier said: “The Indians have not communicated, so we do not know exactly what continued on page 10 box from the debris on Friday evening. “Decoding it is crucial to understanding what went wrong in those final moments,” he said. To ensure a thorough investigation, the government has continued on page 10 Ahmedabad, June 14 Air India on Saturday said it had completed one-time safety checks on nine of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and was working to inspect the remaining 24 aircraft as per regulatory directives. The move follows the DGCA’s mandate for all locally operated Boeing 787s to undergo inspections. “Air India has completed checks on nine Boeing 787 aircraft and is on track to finish the remaining 24 within the regulator’s stipulated timeline,” the airline said, adding, “Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.” The carrier currently operates a fleet of 26 Boeing 787-8s and seven Boeing 787-9s. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu stated, “We have ordered extended surveillance of these planes. There are 34 such aircraft in India’s fleet.” While Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, rival airline IndiGo has one in its inventory. Oxygen leak fixed, Axiom-4 mission eyesJune19lift-off Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said the liquid oxygen leak observed in SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket has been fixed and the Axiom4 commercial mission to the International Space Station Shubhanshu Shukla (ISS), carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others, is targeting a launch on June 19. “During a follow-on coordination meeting between the ISRO, Axiom Space and SpaceX, it was confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon-9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved,” the ISRO said. continued on page 10 Adil Akhzer Public can access 16 spots, closed after Pahalgam, in 1st phase Srinagar, June 14 Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday announced phasewise reopening of tourist spots, which were closed following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, from June 17. Eight destinations each in Kashmir and Jammu regions will be reopened in the first phase. Sinha, who controls the J-K Home Department, made the announcement during a visit to south Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The authorities had temporarily shut 49 of the 87 tourist destinations in the Valley in the last week of April citing “security reasons”. “Some places were closed after the April 22 (attack) in view of security considerations. The divisional commissioners and IGs of Jammu and Kashmir took reports from all districts and have decided to reopen some destinations in a phased manner,” the L-G said. In Anantnag district, Betab Valley (Pahalgam), parks in Pahalgam market, Verinag Garden, Kokernag Garden and Achabal Garden will be reopened, he said. In Srinagar district, Badamwari park, NIA chargesheets ULFA(I)chiefBaruah DELHI: The NIA has chargesheeted ULFA (I) chief Paresh Baruah and two others for their role in the conspiracy to carry out multiple IED blasts in Assam on Independence Day in 2024. They were found linked with the IED planted by the terror outfit in Guwahati as part of a conspiracy to trigger multiple blasts across Assam. — TNS NEW CRPF official killed in OdishaIEDexplosion BHUBANESWAR:CRPF ASI Satya- J&K L-G Manoj Sinha. ANI Duck Park near Nageen, and Takdeer Park near Hazratbal had been selected. “Tourists will be able to visit these places after two days,” the L-G said. Sinha also announced reopening of eight places in the Jammu region. More places would be reopened in the next phase, he said, adding that there was fresh enthusiasm among people after the start of the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express. “Railway authorities have told me that all tickets have been booked for the next 10-12 days. continued on page 10 ban K Singh (34) was killed in a blast during an anti-Naxal operation at the Odisha-Jharkhand border on Saturday, officials said. Singh, who was from the 134th battalion, was injured when an IED exploded near K Balang village in Sundergarh. He succumbed to injuries later, officials said. — PTI Privilegeproceedings againstKamrasoon MUMBAI: The breach of privilege proceedings against standup comedian Kunal Kamra over his parody song targeting Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde will begin soon, a senior official said on Saturday. BJP MLA Pravin Darekar had moved a notice against the comedian in the legislative council during the Budget session in March. — PTI Iran hits back with 200 missiles; Israel warns Tehran will burn if it doesn’t stop Punjab leads with 7 in top100, 2 from Haryana, 1 Chandigarh qualified candidates are from Uttar Pradesh (over 1.70 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (1.25 lakh) and Rajasthan (1.19 lakh). Of the 28,407 students from Punjab who appeared in the medical entrance exam, 16,104 qualified, a marginal increase from last year’s figure of 15,707. There are 1.08 lakh MBBS seats available in the country and of these, 56,000 are in government colleges and 52,000 in private ones. In Delhi, there are 1,092 medical seats in seven government medical colleges. NEET was last year plagued by several allegations of irregularities, including paper leaks, and litigation, UGC-NET was cancelled after reports that the integrity of the exam had been compromised. Both matters are being probed by the CBI. The Centre had in July last year set up a panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations by NTA. L-GSinha orders phased reopening of shut J&K tourist sites from June 17 Cadet Adjutant Anni Nehra from Rewari receives the Sword of Honour from Lt Gen BKGM Lasantha Rodrigo, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, at the IMA passing out parade in Dehradun on Saturday. Nehra was awarded the President’s Bronze Medal for standing third in the order of merit on passing out of the NDA, Khadakwasla, in May 2024. PTI Jerusalem, June 14 Israeli Defence Minister Katz has warned Iran that “Tehran will burn” if it continues firing missiles at Israel as tensions escalated between the two nations. His comments came after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel following Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear, missile and military complex. “The Iranian dictator is turning his citizens into hostages and creating a reality in which they, especially the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal attack on Israeli civilians,” Katz said during a situation assessment with Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief of staff Eyal Zamir, Mossad director David Barnea, and other top military officials. “If (Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” the Israeli defence minister asserted. Israel has so far kept its attacks limited to Iranian nuclear and military installations and has targeted key officials attached to them. continued on page 10 REUTERS /thetribunechd YOUTH FROM REMOTE VILLAGE BECOMES FLYING OFFICER J&K Smoke billows from a building following a missile attack in Tel Aviv. Israeli military apologises for posting wrong map of India New Delhi, June 14 The Israeli military on Saturday apologised for posting an incorrect map of India’s international boundaries on X. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) admitted that the map, which wrongly showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan, “failed to precisely depict borders” but claimed it was only an “illustration of the region”. The IDF’s post followed tweets by Indian users, many furious, pointing out the error and urging the Israeli military to retract the post. Some even tagged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The map that kicked up the storm was posted on X on Friday evening, as part of a tweet underlining Tel Aviv’s perception of Iran as a “global threat”. — TNS Crash, cameras & chaos — Media frenzy at ground zero in Gujarat’s Meghaninagar UJWAL JALALI IN AHMEDABAD With the Gujarat Police barricading all routes nearly a km away from the Air India crash site in Meghaninagar, the narrow lanes of a nearby residential colony resemble a war zone, not of rescue and recovery, but of tripods, boom mics and desperate voices shouting, “Live visuals from ground zero!” The crash that claimed 270 lives has not only left behind the wreckage of a Dreamliner but also triggered a full-blown media circus. Local residents, still dazed from the horror of the crash, now face another onslaught — journalists scaling compound walls, knocking repeatedly at doors and pleading for terrace access to get “just one shot” of the charred remains of the plane’s fuselage. “I said ‘no’ four times, then I found two of them on my third-floor terrace,” said Sonali Ben (name changed), a schoolteacher whose house lies just outside the police cordon. The local woman told Mediapersons at the crash site. MANAS RANJAN BHUI IN AHMEDABAD Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including six-page Spectrum. The Tribune that one reporter even asked her if she had a ladder to climb the water tank for a better angle. This newspaper also faced similar problems in capturing pictures of the wreckage. However, one of the households, taking pity on the team working under the scorching sun, allowed access to their terrace. Multiple media crews, national and regional, had take over rooftops in the area, placing cameras on water tanks and even offering money to teenagers to help navigate alternate routes through adjoining rooftops. “Waha se kuch dikh raha hai kya?” (Is the wreckage visible from there?), asked one journalist as this correspondent scaled a farm wall and stood atop it. “No luck” was the answer, and the crew quickly moved to the next lane in search of a better view. Every alley in Meghaninagar now echoes with hurried footsteps, the buzz of live broadcasting and microphones thrust at anyone who might have “seen something”. When locals were asked about June 12, the day of the crash, each had their own account. Some described feeling an earthquake-like tremor after a loud bang, while others briefly feared an attack by an enemy country. The tragedy is now etched into the memory of Meghaninagar and even beyond. Whether it’s auto-rickshaw drivers, cabbies or tea vendors, everyone has one thing in common: discussions about the devastating crash.