Air India plane crash: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'heartbroken' over fatal tragedy that left over 200 dead
A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in a residential area in Ahmedabad minutes after taking off. The aircraft, carrying 242 people, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed immediately after takeoff on Thursday afternoon.
More than 200 people are feared killed. There were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals onboard apart from 12 crew members. Police said there appeared to be no survivors, according to news agency AFP.
Several videos posted online showed an aircraft rapidly losing altitude -- with its nose up -- before it hit a building and exploded into an orange ball of fire. Authorities said it went down outside the airport perimeter, in a crowded residential area while an AFP reporter in the city said the plane crashed between a hospital and the city's Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
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Marco Rubio on Air India plane crash
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
were among scores of world leaders who offered condolences to the people of India in wake of the plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. "Heartbroken to hear the news of a tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad, India. My prayers are with all who lost their loved ones in this horrible incident."
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— SecRubio (@SecRubio)
Investigators with the US National Transportation Safety Board will travel to assist Indian counterparts probing the brutal Air India crash, the agency announced Thursday.
"The NTSB will be leading a team of US investigators travelling to India to assist... with (the) investigation into the crash of an Air India Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad, India," the agency said on X, adding that under international protocols, "all information on the investigation will be provided by the Government of India."
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Meanwhile, the UK government said it was sending a team to support the investigation into the Air India crash in Ahmedabad that has killed more than 200 people.
"The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has formally offered its assistance to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, India. We are deploying a multidisciplinary investigation team to India to support the Indian led investigation," the AAIB said in a statement.
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