Air India crash live updates: Plane bound for London carrying 242 people crashes in Ahmedabad
An Air India flight heading to London has crashed in Ahmedabad with 242 people on board.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
3 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Air India plane crash survivor meets prime minister Narendra Modi in hospital
Video footage shows Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, talking to Mr Modi while lying on his hospital bed. The prime minister also visited the crash site. Air India confirmed Mr Ramesh was the sole survivor of the 242 people on board the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. It is one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British nationals killed, and the first involving a 787. There are fears the number of people killed on the ground could rise. Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash. Aviation experts have speculated about a number of possible causes for the crash, from both engines failing – possibly due to a bird strike, as happened in the so-called Miracle on the Hudson in 2009 – to the flaps on the aircraft's wings not being set to the correct position for take-off. Images taken after the incident showed part of the plane embedded in the BJ Medical College building. At least five medical students were killed and about 50 injured. Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft's emergency exits. According to Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times, Mr Ramesh said after the crash: 'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.' British couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual wellness centre, were said to be among the dead. Mr Greenlaw-Meek appeared on ITV's This Morning earlier this year, and former editor of the show Martin Frizell praised his 'vibrancy' and 'enthusiasm'. The Gloucester Muslim Community group offered 'sincere and deepest condolences' after Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their daughter Sara were reported to be among the victims. Raj Mishra, the mayor of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, called for people to come together as he announced the deaths of three people from his community. 'Among those lost were Raxa Modha, infant Rudra Modha, and Ms K Mistri, all from our Wellingborough community,' he said. Mr Modi said the scenes of 'devastation' were 'saddening'. He wrote in a post on X: 'Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. 'Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy.' Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 13, 2025 Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson visited the area, according to the BBC, but did not take questions from media. Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10 million rupees (around £86,000) to the families of each of those killed in the crash. The company said it would also cover the medical costs of the injured and provide support in the 'building up' of the medical college. Air India has set up friends and relatives assistance centres at Gatwick, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad airports to provide support in the wake of AI171's crash. 'These centres are facilitating the travel of family members to Ahmedabad,' the airline said in a post on X. UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy confirmed US teams from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board were also heading to India with support from Boeing and GE Aerospace. He told reporters it was 'way too premature' to ground Boeing 787s in the aftermath of the crash. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said any British nationals requiring consular assistance, or who have concerns about family or friends, should call 020 7008 5000.
BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ahmedabad: Families cling to hope after deadly Air India crash
Imtiyaz Ali Sayed refuses to when the news first broke - that his younger brother Javed, along with Javed's wife and two children, had perished in the devastating Air India crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday even now, more than 10 hours later, as the clock strikes three in the morning and he paces the sterile corridors of the hospital where their bodies lie, refusing to sit, refusing to have confirmed that only one of the 242 people aboard the London-bound flight survived. DNA testing is now underway to identify the Sayed, a Mumbai-based businessman, is one of dozens of families awaiting closure after one of India's worst aviation says that until he sees his brother's body - or "whatever remains of it" - with his own eyes, he will keep looking for him."You don't understand. They were my life - if I give up now, I might never be able to recover," he he swipes through his phone, showing pictures of his niece and nephew, including some that were taken just moments before they boarded the Sayed recalls how their elder sister was meant to travel to London with Javed but couldn't get a ticket. Then he falls silent. Outside, the night deepens, the sky darkening by slow later, he picks up his phone again - this time to show a series of messages he sent Javed after hearing about the crash."Look," he says, holding out the screen. "They're still getting delivered. That has to mean something, right?" The tragedy had unfolded in seconds: a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, crashing into a medical college in a densely packed residential neighborhood."There was a loud roar, a deafening screech and then suddenly, fire, iron and steel began to rain from the sky," said Mukesh, a driver who lives about 15 minutes away from the site of the least eight people who were killed on the ground, a senior health official in Ahmedabad has told the BBC. When rescuers first arrived, they found fragments of the aircraft shattered with such force that it was hard to tell the pieces apart from human remains, two members of the disaster force told the the crash, a foul, acrid smell has hung over the area as smoke billowed from the wreckage late into the say they're working to identify victims, but the scale of destruction has made the task immensely difficult.A volunteer at Civil Hospital told the BBC, on condition of anonymity, that many bodies are so badly charred and mangled, physical identification may be impossible."It's like trying to tell ashes apart from ashes."For families, the wait has been excruciating. Many have camped outside the hospital- in cars or on the streets - their anguished cries echoing through the corridors. Sameer Shaikh's wife can't stop crying. Their son, Irfan - an Air India crew member - didn't call often, but always messaged before takeoff and after when the airline called that afternoon, Mr Shaikh was confused. Irfan was supposed to be en route to London."But instead, we found out he died in a crash."Shaikh, who lives in Pune, flew to Ahmedabad with his family to collect his son's body. An Air India official at the Civil Hospital helped him with the identification process."But the police didn't let us take my son back," he says. "They asked us to come back in three days, after the DNA sampling of all the victims was completed."Devastated, the couple have been searching for help - and answers."What are we to do?" he asks, pointing to his wife, sitting on a street corner, sobbing. "How can we wait three days when we know it's our son?" The Shaikhs are not alone in their anguish. Just across the city, another tragedy is still unfolding - this one at the very site where the plane went Medical College Civil Hospital, one of Ahmedabad's most respected institutions, became ground zero when the aircraft crashed into its hostel on Thursday. Casualties have been reported, but the full toll remains Thakur paces anxiously, searching for any news about her mother, Sarla, who worked as a cook at the hostel. She was in the back of the building - the very spot where the aircraft the day's events, Ms Thakur says her family, who work at the hospital, had left for work around 13:00 local time."The plan was to serve lunch to the doctors and return home. But when my mother saw students arriving at the mess hall, she decided to stay back and make rotis (flatbreads) for them," she was the moment the plane slammed into the hostel and tore through the building's first floor. In the chaotic minutes that followed, confusion and grief hung heavy."There was so much black smoke pouring out of the building. People were running, trying to save their lives. We've been searching for our mother since morning, but we haven't found any trace of her," she father, Prahlad Thakur, says Sarla wasn't alone - "My brother's daughter was with her," he says. Both are searched the top floor, where the kitchen was, but found nothing."I went there twice, hoping to find something - anything. But there was only water and debris," he says. The crash didn't just shatter a building - it shattered a normal afternoon on campus."There was a loud noise. All the doors and windows of the classroom began to tremble. Everyone ran outside to check what had happened," a student, who preferred to remain unnamed, the news spread and it began to become increasingly clear that many students had been injured - possibly even killed - panic rippled across the campus. Some began to run, others, too dazed by what they had witnessed, froze on the spot, their sobs mingling with the screams."A student just stood there with tears in his eyes, unable to move, while others were so badly hurt they had to be carried to the hospital. Many are now being treated for severe wounds, a few of them are in the ICU," the other evening, the badly damaged corridors stood silent. Backpacks and half-eaten meals lay abandoned on tables where students had fled. The air was still thick with smoke, sirens, and the weight of what had just reporting by Kalpesh Kumar Chavda in Ahmedabad
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
All the possible Air India crash causes - from engine failure to pilot error
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London's Gatwick Airport erupted into a ball of fire just outside Ahmedabad Airport in western India after crashing into a college in a residential area Aviation experts are scrambling to offer theories after the tragic Air India crash yesterday saw a plane carrying 53 Brits smash into a residential neighbourhood in India. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was carrying 242 passengers, had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India on a London-bound flight when the jet came down in fair flying conditions. Shortly after 1pm, the plane reached around 625ft in the air when its transponder signal was lost and it came crashing down, smashing into a medical college and exploding into a ball of flames. An investigation is underway while experts analyse footage of the crash and offer up theories about what could have brought the plane down. The video footage, while compelling, is not conclusive evidence, and investigators will only know what happened once they have found and analysed the plane's black boxes. Did engine failure bring the plane down? A "mayday" call sent to air traffic control shortly after takeoff has led some experts to suggest the Dreamliner could have suffered a mechanical failure. The fact that pilots sent this message indicates they could tell there was a problem with the aircraft. Videos of the fateful take-off, while inconclusive as evidence, seem to show the plane struggling to lift off the ground - which could be due to a lack of thrust or power. Some experts believe this could have been caused by an almost unheard of double engine failure. Speaking to the BBC, one senior pilot said this ultra-rare event could be caused by the contamination or clogging of jet fuel Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation expert, said the double-engine theory would be "a very, very rare incident". Could the fault lie with the pilots? Captain Summeet Sabharwal, a veteran pilot with 8,200 hours of flying experience, was commanding the flight when it crashed just outside the Gujarati airport. According to early reports, it seems unlikely that a pilot fault was to blame. Principal aviation consultant at BL Aviation Consulting, Bernard Lavelle, explained that once in the air, modern planes "pretty much fly themselves", but it's the take-off and landing that require the active participation of the pilots. "The two most dangerous, relatively speaking, phases of any flight are take off and landing," he told the MailOnline. "There are generally few issues when the aircraft is in the air - but take-off and landing are when something could go wrong and the only time the pilot is (fully in control of) the aircraft." The fact that an SOS message was sent out appears to suggest that it was not the pilots' fault, he added. Runway miscalculation While the SOS message appears to indicate a mechanical failure rather than pilot error, the pilots could have miscalculated the length of runway needed for the Boeing Dreamliner to take off. Marco Chan, senior lecturer in aviation at Buckinghamshire New University, explained how the Boeing Dreamliner needs 1.75miles of runway to take off properly. However, unverified data from Flightradar24 shows that it took off with just 1.18miles of tarmac. Mr Chan told the MailOnline: "1900 metres would be inadequate for a 787, which could be an issue(to investigate). The onboard computer would know there is not enough runway and not give you full power.' However, Mr Chan added that the computer can be overridden. He said: "Something has gone wrong in the cockpit. The aircraft is at maximum thrust at this point. If they weren't able to reach altitude, it might indicate an issue with the engine. They weren't getting the thrust they thought they should be." Could birds have struck the engine? Other experts have pointed to a bird strike being the cause of the tragic incident in Ahmedabad yesterday. Aviation expert and former Indian Navy pilot Capt Saurabh Bhatnagar told NDTV the videos looks like a case of "multiple bird hits", which lead to both engines losing power. "The takeoff was perfect and just I believe short of taking the gear up the aircraft started descending, which only happens if the engine loses power or the aircraft stops delivering the lift," he told the Indian national broadcaster. Former US Air Force Pilot Lt Col John R Davidson backed up Bhatnagar's claim, saying: " Weather, windshear or even bird strike can't be ruled out either at this early stage." There are a number of other theories circulating on social media, including the plane not being set up properly for take off because its "flaps" were not properly deployed. Tensions have also reached boiling point between India and Pakistan in recent months after the murder of 25 Indian tourists by militants in Kashmir. Security experts say it would be unwise to rule out security issues at this early stage.
