Vijay Rupani Seen at Ahmedabad Airport, Instagram Clip Goes Viral

A video posted by London-based yoga enthusiast Jamie Meek, capturing his farewell to India, has now gained global attention-not for its intended message, but for inadvertently showing former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's final moments before boarding the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad.

In the now-viral Instagram clip, Meek and his partner, Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, are seen seated at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, fondly recalling their experiences during their India visit. As Meek says "Goodbye India, we are at the airport, just boarding," a familiar figure walks past in the background-Vijay Rupani, dressed in a navy-blue Nehru jacket and speaking on his phone, heading towards the departure gate.

The video was intended as a light-hearted farewell, but now serves as the last known visual of the 68-year-old BJP leader, who was en route to London to visit his wife and daughter. He was seated in 2D on Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers.

The aircraft took off at 1:38 PM but crashed within minutes, plummeting into the residential wing of a medical college in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area. The plane struck a hostel block, slicing through a dining hall before bursting into flames.

Eyewitnesses reported the aircraft flying unusually low moments before the crash. Emergency teams arrived swiftly, but rescue operations were hampered by dense smoke and fire. Only one passenger survived the devastating crash.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu later confirmed the tragic death of Vijay Rupani.

Rupani, who served as Gujarat's 16th Chief Minister from 2016 to 2021, had a long and impactful political career. Born in Rangoon (now Yangon) in 1956, he moved to India amid political unrest in Burma. His family settled in Rajkot, where Rupani began his political journey as a student activist. He was elected as a municipal corporator in 1987 and rose steadily through the BJP ranks to become a key figure in Gujarat politics.

Now, what was meant to be a cheerful travel vlog has become a somber memento of a national tragedy and the last visual memory of a senior leader.