Hyderabad: June 12, 2025, was the most painful day for India. Air India's AI-171 Ahmedabad to London flight crashed a few minutes after takeoff in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. So far, 241 people have died in this tragic accident. There were 230 passengers, along with 12 crew members, on the flight. At the same time, the death of nine people, including four MBBS doctors, has been confirmed in the medical college building where the plane collided.
This accident is one of the biggest plane crashes in India till date. However, if we look at historical records, the month of June has witnessed several tragic and major incidents over the past few decades. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Matunga Railway Accident: On June 13, 1966, two passenger trains collided near Matunga railway station in Bombay (now Mumbai), killing at least 57 people and injuring around 100. The accident was caused by a signal failure.
Uphaar Cinema Tragedy: The Uphaar Cinema fire on June 13, 1997, was a devastating incident that took place at Uphaar Cinema located in Green Park, South Delhi. During the incident, the Bollywood film Border was being shown in the cinema. At the same time, a transformer installed in the parking lot caught fire, resulting in a short circuit and smoke and flames started rising rapidly in the cinema hall. In all, 59 people were killed in the fire accident. Many of whom died of suffocation. While more than 100 people were seriously injured in the stampede that followed.
Mandai Bazar Massacre: On June 8, 1980, tribal attackers massacred Bengali migrants in Mandai Bazar, Tripura. The rebels killed about 400 villagers (official count 255) in two hours.
Bihar Rail Accident: The country's deadliest and the world's second-largest rail accident took place in Bihar in 1981. On June 6, 1981, during a cyclone in Balaghat, Bihar, 7 out of 9 coaches of a train running on a bridge derailed from the bridge and fell into the Bagmati River. At least 800 people were killed in the accident. This overloaded passenger train was going from Mansi to Saharsa.
Air India crash: On June 21, 1982, an Air India Boeing 707 flying from Singapore via Madras with 99 passengers and 12 crew members (a total of 111) crashed while landing at Sahar International Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai) due to bad weather. In this tragic accident, 17 people (15 passengers and 2 crew members) lost their lives, while 94 people narrowly escaped.
Air India plane bombing: In June itself, a plane crash took place on June 23, 1985. An Air India plane flying from Canada to India via London exploded off the coast of Ireland. All 329 people on board the plane were killed in this accident. The cause was a suitcase bomb. Among the dead were 268 Canadians, most of whom were of Indian origin. There were also 24 Indians. The bodies of 131 dead in the accident were retrieved from the sea.
Kedarnath Floods: The days of June 16-17, 2013, are recorded in the tragic accidents of Uttarakhand. On that day, a sudden cloudburst in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, caused horrific floods and landslides, which destroyed many villages and towns. Due to the melting of the Chorabari glacier as well as heavy rains, a crack appeared in the Chorabari glacial lake, causing the glacial lake to explode and take the form of a flood. Thousands of people were swept away in the flood, and traces of many people have not been found yet.
Coromandel Express: On June 2, 2023, the Coromandel Express, going to Howrah, collided with a freight train parked in Balasore district of Odisha, causing several coaches to derail. In the incident, several coaches of the Coromandel Express fell on the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express coming on another railway track. At least 293 people lost their lives, and more than 1,100 people were injured in the triple rail accident in Balasore, Odisha.
Cloud Burst: From June 27 to August 16, 2024, 51 incidents of cloudburst and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh killed 31 people, and 33 were reported missing. At least 121 houses were affected in this natural disaster, and 35 landslides caused additional destruction. The state suffered losses of about Rs 1,140 crore due to significant destruction of roads and infrastructure.
