Hundreds killed in Air India disaster as Gatwick flight crashes after take-off – but one Briton is ‘sole survivor'

Independent

a day ago

Hundreds of people are dead after an Air India flight destined for London crashed moments after it took off and crashed into a building on Thursday, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
However, one passenger, a British man visiting family, appears to have miraculously survived.
The airline said 241 people were killed when the Boeing Dreamliner bound for Gatwick came down in a residential area in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
There had been 242 people on board, including 11 children and 12 crew members. Among the passengers were 169 Indians, 53 British people, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian.
Downing Street warned that the British public should be prepared for a significant loss of British lives, and MP Bob Blackman said some of his constituents in London had been notified of the deaths of their relatives.
A British family of three who were killed were Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee, from Gloucester, and their four-year-old daughter, Sara.
Abdullah Samad, headteacher of Sara's primary school, said she was a 'ray of sunshine' and that her parents were known for their charity work.
A British couple who ran a spiritual wellness company were also among the victims.
Jamie Ray Greenlaw-Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, from London, were returning home after a 10-day retreat, their family said.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the crash site after the plane erupted into a huge fireball when it struck a medical college not far from the airport.
Some medical students in the building jumped to escape just before the plane hit.
Emergency services rushed to douse the charred wreckage, as well as several surrounding multi-storey buildings.
As the emergency effort continued into Thursday evening more than 200 bodies had been removed from the crash site.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.38pm local time (9.08am BST), but crashed just moments later. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the flight made a mayday call to air-traffic control, but there was no response to subsequent calls made by controllers to the aircraft.
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, initially said 294 people were dead, including students in the building that was hit, but later revised the death toll down to more than 240, after it was realised that body parts had led to some double-counting.
'We are still verifying the number of dead, including those killed in the building where the plane crashed,' she said.
Ramila, the mother of one, said 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.
The dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.
Relatives have been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said.
The cause of the tragedy has yet to be established but investigations are under way. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said videos showed that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
A formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Indian civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said.
'The government is constituting a high-level committee comprising experts from multiple disciplines to examine the matter in detail,' he said.
The sole survivor was 40-year-old Briton Viswashkumar Ramesh, who told local media how the disaster unfolded.
'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,' Mr Ramesh told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in his name. '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. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.'
Three of the Britons who died in the crash were identified by the Gloucester Muslim Community as Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours. There were 10 other crew members on board the flight. A team of US experts will travel to India to help with the investigation, America's National Transportation Safety Board said.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said the crash had 'stunned and saddened' the country. 'It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,' he wrote.
UK political leaders have also expressed their heartbreak after the Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said 'the scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating', adding he was being kept updated as the situation develops.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said he was deeply saddened by the news, and the UK was working with authorities in India 'to urgently establish the facts and provide support'. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was 'heartbreaking' news.
The King said he and Queen Camilla had been 'desparately shocked'. 'Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones,' King Charles wrote.
Condolences poured in from other leaders around the world.
'We share your shock and grief on this tragic day. We all pray for as many lives to be saved as possible and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,' Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
US president Donald Trump called the crash 'terrible' and the US government said the Federal Aviation Administration was working with Boeing and aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace in the investigation.
India's civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu inspected the crash site on Thursday evening, and said it was a 'deeply distressing' scene.
'We're doing everything we can to support the victims and their families in this tragic hour,' he wrote.
Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended all flight operations after the crash, said it was operational again but with limited flights.
The last fatal plane crash in India, the world's third-largest aviation market, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.
Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information about what had happened. 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.
Families in India with concerns should call Air India on 1800 5691 444. For those outside India, call the British Foreign Office on 020 7008 5000