Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 14 (ANI): Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan has reacted strongly to the tragic Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad, calling it a heartbreaking incident and slamming the opposition leaders for demanding 'resignations'.

Speaking to ANI, Minister Mahajan said, 'This is a tragic incident... It is very immature of those (opposition) who are commenting on this, asking resignation of the leaders... They do not know anything apart from politics...'

He added that this is not the time for politics but a moment to support rescue efforts and stand by the victims and their families.

Meanwhile, Saligram J Murlidhar, former Deputy Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), called the Ahmedabad crash one of the most unfortunate aviation disasters in recent Indian history. He said fuel contamination could be a major reason behind the incident.

Speaking to ANI, Murlidhar said, 'The Ahmedabad plane crash was one of the most unfortunate incidents in Indian recent history. The aircraft is a Boeing Dreamliner. It is one of the most ultramodern aircraft with all the safety precautions, navigation, and it is almost foolproof.'

He said the aircraft was carrying over 35 tons of fuel, and its failure to gain altitude suggested a major technical issue.

Authorities are currently searching for the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to understand what happened in the final moments of the flight.

On Thursday, the Al-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport.

The airlines said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.

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.

As per 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.

Shortly after take-off, the aircraft crashed outside the airport boundary. Eyewitnesses reported thick black smoke rising from the crash site.

According to Air India, the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national. (ANI)