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There appear to be no survivors from a London-bound Air India flight carrying 242 people which crashed shortly after takeoff in the north-western city of Ahmedabad, a police commissioner has said.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was engulfed in a huge fireball after crashing into the Meghaninagar residential area minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time.
The Ahmedabad police commissioner, Gyanendra Singh Malik, said: “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.” He also said “some locals would have also died”. The area where the plane crashed included a hostel for doctors and medical students.
The plane is said to have struck the top of the dining area of the state-run BJ Medical College hostel, killing many students, according to India’s CNN News-18 TV channel.
More than 100 bodies had been brought to the local government hospital for autopsies, police told Reuters.
Air India’s chair, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, described the crash as a “tragic accident”.
A video obtained by local media showed the aircraft flying over a residential area before crashing, creating what appeared to be a large explosion.
Footage of the aftermath showed billowing smoke rising over the area and firefighters on charred streets as people were moved on stretchers. In other images, people were seen assessing the damage while part of the mangled plane could be seen sticking out of a building. Pieces of the aircraft’s landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the wreckage.
“The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel … we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters, according to Reuters.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm (08.09 GMT) from runway 23. It issued a mayday call after which nothing more was heard from the flight deck.
The 242 people onboard the Gatwick-bound flight included two pilots and 10 cabin crew. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, according to Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.
Chandrasekaran said a support team had been set up for families seeking information. In a post on X, he said: “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
“We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
India’s civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, posted on X that rescue teams had been mobilised and all efforts were being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site.
Residents told Agence France-Presse about the aftermath of the crash. “When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames. Many of the bodies were burned,” said Poonam Patni.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames. We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital.”
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said in a statement: “The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.”
The UK Foreign Office said officials were working with Indian authorities to establish the facts around the crash and provide support to those involved. Gatwick said a reception centre was being set up for the relatives of passengers.
The flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the signal from the aircraft was lost less than a minute after takeoff. In a post on X, it said: “We are following reports of a crash of Air India flight AIC171 from Ahmedabad to London.
“We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC (shortly before 9.09am BST), just seconds after takeoff. The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB.”
This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
