New Delhi, June 13 (PTI) – Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani tragically lost his life in a plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. This unfortunate incident adds his name to the list of notable Indian politicians and personalities who have perished in aviation accidents. Rupani was on a London-bound flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, resulting in the deaths of 241 out of 242 passengers on board. Here is a list of prominent politicians and figures who have died in air tragedies:
* Homi Bhabha (1966): India's pioneering nuclear physicist, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, died in a tragic crash aboard Air India Flight 101 on January 24, 1966. The plane crashed into Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps due to a miscommunication with Geneva air traffic control.
* Sanjay Gandhi (1980): Congress leader and son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, died in a tragic crash on June 23, 1980. Attempting aerial stunts in a Delhi Flying Club aircraft near Safdarjung Airport, the plane lost control and crashed.
* Madhavrao Scindia (2001): Senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia, once a Civil Aviation Minister, died on September 30, 2001, in a plane crash while en route to a political rally in Kanpur. The private 10-seater aircraft crashed due to poor weather conditions near Manipuri in Uttar Pradesh.
* GMC Balayogi (2002): Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam Party leader G M C Balayogi perished in a helicopter crash on March 3, 2002. A private helicopter carrying him from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district crashed into a pond near Kaikalur in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.
* Cyprian Sangma (2004): Meghalaya's Rural Development Minister, Cyprian Sangma, along with nine others, died when a Pawan Hans helicopter crashed near the Barapani lake, just 20 km from Shillong, on September 22, 2004.
* K S Sowmya (2004): Renowned South Indian actress K S Sowmya, also known as Soundarya, lost her life in an air crash on April 17, 2004. The "Sooryavansham" actress was flying from Bengaluru to Karimnagar at the time of the accident.
* O P Jindal and Surender Singh (2005): Industrialist and Haryana Minister Om Prakash Jindal died in a helicopter crash in 2005, along with Agriculture Minister Surender Singh. Their chopper crashed in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur while en route to Chandigarh from Delhi.
* Y S Reddy (2009): Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, perished on September 2, 2009, when his Bell 430 helicopter crashed in the dense Nallamala forest due to adverse weather conditions.
* Dorjee Khandu (2011): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others were killed on April 30, 2011, when their helicopter crashed in West Kameng district, en route from Tawang to Itanagar.
* CDS General Bipin Rawat (2021): India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021. The accident occurred near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu while he was traveling from Sulur to Wellington with his wife and 11 others.
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