Air India flight heading for London crashes with more than 240 on board
An Air India passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board including one Canadian crashed Thursday in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad, the airline said.
Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than five million.
Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and an adjacent multi-story building with water. Charred bodies lay on the ground.
'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,' British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
The airline said the Gatwick Airport-bound flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew. Of those, Air India said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
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Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 pm local time. He said 244 people were on board and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy with Air India's numbers.
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All efforts were being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site, India's Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X.
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The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Boeing said it was aware of the reports of the crash and was 'working to gather more information.'
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The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.
Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment 'our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.'
He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight.
'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,' he said.
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British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide 'all the support that it can' to those affected by the crash.
'This is an unfolding story, and it will undoubtedly be causing a huge amount of worry and concern to the many, many families and communities here and those waiting for the arrival of their loved ones,' she told legislators in the House of Commons.
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'We send our deepest sympathy and thoughts to all those families, and the government will provide all the support that it can with those in India and those in this country as well,' she added.
Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 UK census.
The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020 when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people.
The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhastan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes.
–Roy reported from New Delhi. Sheikh Saaliq in Srinagar, India, Pan Pylas and Brian Melley in London and Annika Wolters, David Rising, Adam Schreck and Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors An unknown number of people on the ground were killed in the crash, including medical students in a college hostel when the plane hit the building and burst into flames, said Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in the northwestern city. 'Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,' she said. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that he met the sole survivor at the hospital. A doctor said he had examined the survivor, whom he identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh. 'He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,' Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. 'But he seems to be out of danger.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Another medic said Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, throwing him out before a loud explosion. Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site. Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A video on social media showed the jet slowly descending as if it were landing. As soon as it disappeared from view behind rows of houses, a giant fireball filled the sky. The AP was able to verify the video by matching up the flight path of the plane from the runway with the crash site and the nearby residential area. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabilizer fins still attached was lodged near the top of one of the buildings. Others may be buried in debris In a social media post, Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words' and said 'my thoughts are with everyone affected.' 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. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 12, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Sambit Patra, a lawmaker from Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said Gujarat's former chief minister, Vijay Rupani, was among the dead. Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, said at least five students from the medical college were killed on the ground and 50 others were injured. Singh said some of them were in critical condition and many people are 'feared buried in the debris.' Air India confirmed in a statement posted on X that 229 passengers and 12 crew members were killed in the crash. The only survivor was a British national of Indian origin. The flight bound for London Gatwick Airport had 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian aboard. 'Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones,' the airline said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Boeing said it was 'working to gather more information.' India's aviation regulatory body said the aircraft gave a mayday call, signaling an emergency, but then did not respond to the calls made by the airport traffic control. Aviation consultant John M. Cox, the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at. 'The 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The wide-body, twin-engine aircraft was introduced in 2009, and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website. Search and rescue teams respond to the scene of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Photo by Ajit Solanki / AP U.K. promises support British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was in constant contact with Indian authorities and encouraged loved ones of passengers on the Air India flight to contact the foreign office. 'Our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news,' Starmer said. British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide 'all the support that it can' to those affected by the crash. Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 U.K. census. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Condolences also poured in from King Charles III, who said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were 'desperately shocked' by the crash. '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,' he said in a statement. Previous air disasters in India The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people. The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members. Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled nearly 9% before trading opened in the U.S. — Roy reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq in Srinagar, India; Pan Pylas, Kelvin Chan and Brian Melley in London; and Annika Wolters, David Rising, Adam Schreck and Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report. News Sports Soccer Vancouver Canucks Local News
