India plane crash: What we know so far
Here's what we know so far:
What happened?
The Gatwick Airport-bound plane left Ahmedabad, the main city of India's Gujarat state, with 242 people on board.
Air India's flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed "immediately after takeoff", around 1:40 pm (0810 GMT), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Several videos posted on social media, which AFP was not able to immediately verify, showed an aircraft rapidly losing altitude -- with its nose up -- before it hit a building and exploded into a ball of fire.
Air India said the passengers included 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and a Canadian. Two pilots and 10 cabin crew were also aboard.
Scenes of horror
The plane smashed into a building in a crowded residential area of Ahmedabad, a city home to about eight million people.
At the site of the crash, an AFP journalist saw people recovering bodies and firefighters trying to douse the smouldering wreckage.
A resident, who declined 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."
"When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," another resident, Poonam Patni, told AFP, adding that many of the bodies were burned.
'No survivor'
A city police commissioner told AFP there "appears to be no survivor" and that since the plane had crashed in a residential area, he expected "more casualties".
India's aviation ministry deployed all aviation and emergency response agencies "to take swift and coordinated action".
The airport was shut with all flights suspended until further notice.
The airline's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.
Boeing investigating the incident
US planemaker Boeing said it was "working to gather more information" on the incident and that it was ready to support Air India.
A source close to the case said this was the first time a 787 Dreamliner had crashed.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the pride of the US company's catalog for long-distance planes: a fuel-efficient, wide-body, lightweight aircraft able to transport up to 330 people.
Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft -- 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.
© 2025 AFP
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
'Bodies everywhere': Rescuers, lone survivor describe horror of India plane crash site
Volunteers who rushed to help after a passenger jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood of India 's Ahmedabad city described Friday the intense fireball they faced – and the challenge ahead to identify the bodies of at least 265 victims. Bharat Solanki, 51, was working at a fuel station when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – carrying 242 passengers and crew – took off from nearby Ahmedabad airport around lunchtime on Thursday. Less than a minute later it ploughed into a residential area, bursting into searing flames with what residents described as an ear-splitting blast. All but one aboard the plane was killed, and at least 24 others died on the ground. Solanki and a couple of friends rushed to the site. "We saw bodies everywhere – they were in pieces, fully burnt," he said, recalling the horror of the scene. "We took out dead bodies", he said, adding that he also helped bring out those injured from the medical hostel and nearby buildings that the plane smashed into. "Everywhere just bodies, parts, body parts. The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal." 'About to die' The lone survivor aboard the London-bound passenger plane said Friday how even he was struggling to explain how he miraculously walked out alive from the fireball explosion. "Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that," British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said from his hospital bed on Friday, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News. Ramesh, 40, is from the British city of Leicester, according to Britain's Press Association news agency, which spoke with his family at home. The plane smashed into the buildings just outside the perimeter of the airport. "Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," he said. "I saw the air hostess and aunties and uncles all in front of me," he said, his voice trailing off in emotion, using a term of respect used in India for older people. "I unfastened my seatbelt and tried to escape, and I did," he said. "I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel," he added. "Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too – and when my door broke – I saw that there was space, and I thought I could try to slip out." Videos shared on social media showed Ramesh soon after, dressed in a bloodied t-shirt and limping, but walking towards an ambulance. "My left hand got slightly burnt due to the fire, but an ambulance brought me to the hospital," he said. "The people here are taking good care of me." 'Didn't get a chance' Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site on Friday morning, called it a "scene of devastation". He was seen peering up at a fire-blackened multi-storey building with the plane's wheels and tail embedded in a wall. Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts. It may be weeks before a final death toll is confirmed. Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking after visiting the crash site on Thursday, said the plane was carrying 125,000 litres of fuel. The "temperature was so high that one didn't get a chance", he said. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. Sona Prakash, who was close to the residential blocks of the medical accommodation, described how the "hostel was destroyed", adding that "so many doctors were injured, so many died". Another witness, 35-year-old labourer Patani, who uses only one name, said those around him thought a bomb had gone off before they realised it was a plane crash. "There was black smoke everywhere, plumes of smoke", added Vinod Bhai, another labourer. "The sky was only black, that's how much smoke was there."
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Lone India plane crash survivor recounts miracle escape
"Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that," British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said from his hospital bed on Friday, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane, which was full of fuel as it took off for a long-haul flight to London, exploded into a burst of orange flame on Thursday afternoon just after taking off. Ramesh -- who was in seat 11A according to media reports -- was the only one aboard the plane not to be killed, with at least 24 others killed on the ground. His brother was also on the same flight, his family in Britain told reporters. "Within a minute after takeoff, suddenly... it felt like something got stuck... I realised something had happened, and then suddenly the plane's green and white lights turned on," Ramesh said. "After that, the plane seemed to speed up, heading straight towards what turned out to be a hostel of a hospital. Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Ramesh on Friday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed. 'About to die' Ramesh, aged 40, is from the British city of Leicester, according to Britain's Press Association news agency, which spoke with his family at home. The plane smashed into the buildings just outside the perimeter of the airport. "Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," he said. "I saw the air hostess and aunties and uncles all in front of me," he said, his voice trailing off in emotion, using a term of respect used in India for older people. "I unfastened my seatbelt and tried to escape, and I did," he said. "I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel," he added. "Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too – and when my door broke -- I saw that there was space, and I thought I could try to slip out." Videos shared on social media showed Ramesh soon after, dressed in a bloodied t-shirt and limping, but walking towards an ambulance. "My left hand got slightly burnt due to the fire, but an ambulance brought me to the hospital," he said. "The people here are taking good care of me." Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. The death toll currently stands at 265, police said.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Volunteer rescuers describe horror at India plane crash site
Bharat Solanki, 51, was working at a fuel station when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew -- took off from nearby Ahmedabad airport around lunchtime on Thursday. Less than a minute later it ploughed into a residential area, bursting into searing flames with what residents described as an ear-splitting blast. All but one aboard the plane was killed, and at least 24 others died on the ground. Solanki and a couple of friends rushed to the site. "We saw bodies everywhere -- they were in pieces, fully burnt," he said, recalling the horror of the scene. "We took out dead bodies", he said, adding that he also helped bring out those injured from the medical hostel and nearby buildings that the plane smashed into. "Everywhere just bodies, parts, body parts. The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal." 'Didn't get a chance' Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site on Friday morning, called it a "scene of devastation". He was seen peering up at a fire-blackened multi-storey building with the plane's wheels and tail embedded in a wall. Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts. It may be weeks before a final death toll is confirmed. Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking after visiting the crash site on Thursday, said the plane was carrying 125,000 litres (27,500 gallons) of fuel. The "temperature was so high that one didn't get a chance", he said. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. Sona Prakash, who was close to the residential blocks of the medical accommodation, described how the "hostel was destroyed", adding that "so many doctors were injured, so many died". Another witness, 35-year-old labourer Patani, who uses only one name, said those around him thought a bomb had gone off before they realised it was a plane crash. "There was black smoke everywhere, plumes of smoke", added Vinod Bhai, another labourer. "The sky was only black, that's how much smoke was there."
