Tragic Plane Crash Claims Life of Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani

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.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)