On Thursday evening, Vikrant Massey took to his Instagram story to mourn the loss of his “Uncle, Clifford Kunder’s, son,” First Officer Clive Kunder, who was operating as co-pilot on the ill-fated Air India 717 flight bound London.
The actor wrote: “My heart breaks for the families & loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today. It pains me even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder, lost his son, Clive Kunder, who was the 1st officer operating on that fateful flight. May God give strength to you and your family, uncle, and all deeply affected.”
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Following widely spread reports that Massey lost his cousin in the crash, the Sabarmati Report actor issued a clarification that the co-pilot was not his blood relative, but a family friend. “Dear friends in the media and elsewhere, the unfortunately diseased Mr. Clive Kunder was not my cousin. The Kunders are our family friends.” He ends his story by requesting to stop speculation and let the family grieve the heavy loss in peace.
The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who has clocked in 8,200 hours of flight time. Co-pilot Kunder had 1,100 hours of flying experience.
The Air India flight departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.38 pm and crash-landed into a residential area in the Meghani Nagar area, impacting a boys' hostel. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had 242 people on board. The only survivor has been identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who miraculously escaped the wreckage.
