Over 240 killed as Air India plane crashes in Ahmedabad
A view shows the rear of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane following its crash, in Ahmedabad, India, June 12. At least 30 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, with the toll expected to climb. Photo: Reuters
More than 240 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London crashed moments after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 people on board, was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital and crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
At least one passenger is known to have survived, police said, and the man told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after take-off.
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top police officer in Ahmedabad, told Reuters the death toll shared with media previously included double counted body parts.
Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.
The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are…She said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital.
"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed," 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online.
"It all happened so quickly," he told the paper from his hospital bed.
"When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me," he said. "Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."
He said that his brother, Ajay, was seated in a different row on the plane. "He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said.
Message from Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO, Air India. pic.twitter.com/19MiwtkwAI
Ahmedabad police chief GS Malik said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground. The dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.
Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters.
Parts of the plane's body were scattered around the smouldering building into which it crashed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.
The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, a source told Reuters. Air India said 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
Crash just after take-off
Thursday's crash occurred just after the plane took off. TV channels showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
"My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed," Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed. "My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries," she said.
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site, showing part of its registration "VT-ANB", where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: Reuters
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 pm (0809 GMT). It gave a Mayday call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
“If you didn't know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said.
Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 5% as the crash posed a major setback for the planemaker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges.
Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyse cockpit data, India's CNBC TV18 reported.
Photo: Reuters
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would lead a team of US investigators travelling to India to help in the investigation.
Britain was working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the country's foreign office said.
"The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. "It is heartbreaking beyond words."
The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were "devastating", and that he was being kept informed as the situation developed. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles was also being kept updated.
"My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning," the monarch said in a statement.
Modi's home state
The Indian aviation minister's office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed it to ensure all support was extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended all flight operations after the crash, said it was operational again but with limited flights. The airport is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate.
"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy of Air India Flight 171," Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the group, posted on X.
We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy of Air India Flight 171. Our hearts go out to the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. We are working closely with all authorities and extending full support to the families on the ground. 🙏🏽
"Our hearts go out to the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. We are working closely with all authorities and extending full support to the families on the ground," he said.
INDIA's first crash since 2010
The last fatal plane crash in India, the world's third largest aviation market and its fastest growing, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.
Air India flight #AI171 was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad International Airport to London Gatwick Airport.
The signal from the aircraft was lost at 08:08 UTC (13:38 local time) at 625 feet, less than a minute after take off. pic.twitter.com/0wi4ccQnLLThe airline's Boeing-737 overshot a "table-top" runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.
Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara - a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.