The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alongside several focus cities across India. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, the airline is owned by Air India Limited, which is owned by the Tata Group (74.9%) and Singapore Airlines (25.1%). As of November 2024, the airline serves 102 domestic and international destinations, operating a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft and is the second-largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried after IndiGo. Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.
Kashmir Princess
The Kashmir Princess, or Air India Flight 300, was a chartered Lockheed L-749A Constellation Air India flight. On 11 April 1955, it was damaged in midair by a bomb explosion and crashed into the South China Sea while en route from Bombay, India, and Hong Kong to Jakarta, Indonesia. Sixteen of those on board were killed, while three survived. The explosion was an assassination attempt targeting Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who missed the flight either due to a medical emergency or, as one historian concluded, because he had prior knowledge. The Chinese government insisted that Hong Kong authorities investigate; they concluded that the Kuomintang were responsible for the bombing.
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao Zedong and aided the Communist Party in rising to power, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the Chinese economy.
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under martial law until 1987. The KMT is a centre-right to right-wing party and the largest in the Pan-Blue Coalition, one of the two main political groups in Taiwan. Its primary rival is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the largest party in the Pan-Green Coalition. As of 2025, the KMT is the largest single party in the Legislative Yuan and is chaired by Eric Chu.