Ahmedabad plane crash: Gujarat Ex-CM Vijay Rupani's mortal remains identified, probe gathers pace
Ahmedabad (PTI): The mortal remains of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani have been identified through DNA test, officials said on Sunday, as investigations into the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad intensified.
Various central and state government agencies, led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), were at the crash site here for a probe into the causes of the country's worst air disaster in three decades.
So far, 32 victims have been identified and the mortal remains of 14 handed over to the relatives, additional civil superintendent Dr Rajnish Patel told reporters, as the process to identify the deceased through DNA tests gained pace three days after the tragedy.
Rupani was among the 241 passengers killed in the horrific crash. One out of the 242 persons on board miraculously survived.
"The DNA sample of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani matched (with that of his family members) today morning at 11.10 am," Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi told reporters in Gandhinagar.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met the family members of Rupani and informed them about the DNA match, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said.
"Thirty two DNA samples have matched till now, and 14 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. These deceased were from Udaipur, Vadodara, Kheda, Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Botad districts," said Rajnish Patel, professor of surgery at the government-run B J Medical College.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 787-8(AI171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed in the plane crash on Thursday.
The London-bound aircraft came down moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport before falling inside the nearby campus of the medical college in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad and going up in flames.
An AAIB team is leading the investigations and they are here for the last three days, a senior state police official said.
Various central agencies and the state police are assisting in the probe into the horrific tragedy.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani said the black box recovery was a very important part of the investigation process.
"When the investigation started, the black box had to be recovered. The black box is either in the front or in the back. In this case, the tail end was not destroyed and it was stuck in the first building (of BJ Medical College hostel)," the official said.
"The AAIB requested us that cranes, labourers and engineers be provided. The AMC immediately acted and the black box was also recovered," Pani said.
City Police Commissioner G S Malik also reached the accident site on Sunday morning.
"Around 270 bodies have been brought to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital so far from the plane crash site," BJ Medical College's junior doctors association president, Dr Dhaval Gameti, told PTI.
The central government on Saturday set up a high-level multi-disciplinary panel to ascertain the "root cause" of the plane crash and assess any contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error and regulatory compliances.
The panel, headed by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, was mandated to give its report in three months.
As many as 230 teams were formed to coordinate with the victims' families, officials earlier said.
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Trump administration says its war in Iran has been 'terminated' before 60-day deadline
Washington (AP): The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb 28 have terminated.” The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran's oil tankers from getting out to sea.
Under the War Powers Resolution, the law that sought to constrain a president's military powers, President Donald Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorisation or cease fighting. The law also allows an administration to extend that deadline by 30 days.
Democrats have pushed the administration for formal approval of the Iran war, and the 60-day mark would likely have been a turning point for a swath of Republican lawmakers who backed temporary action against Tehran but insisted on congressional input for something longer.
“That deadline is not a suggestion; it is a requirement,” said Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted Thursday in favour of a measure that would end military action in Iran since Congress hadn't given its approval. She added that “further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close."
Richard Goldberg, who served as director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction for the National Security Council during Trump's first term, said he has recommended to administration officials to simply transition to a new operation, which he suggested could be called “Epic Passage,” a sequel to Operation Epic Fury.
That new mission, he said, “would inherently be a mission of self-defence focused on reopening the strait while reserving the right to offensive action in support of restoring freedom of navigation.”
“That to me solves it all,” added Goldberg, who is now a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.
During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Hegseth said it was the administration's “understanding” that the 60-day clock was on pause while the two countries were in a ceasefire.
Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on war powers, said that interpretation would be a “sizeable extension of previous legal gamesmanship” related to the 1973 law.
“To be very, very clear and unambiguous, nothing in the text or design of the War Powers Resolution suggests that the 60-day clock can be paused or terminated,” she said.
Other presidents have argued that the military action they've taken was not intense enough or was too intermittent to qualify under the War Powers Resolution. But Trump's war in Iran would certainly not be such a case, Ebright said, adding that lawmakers need to push back against the administration on that kind of argument.
