Air India flight bound for Gatwick crashes with 244 people on board
The Air India flight was departing from Ahmedabad airport with 244 people on board, including 53 British nationals.
A large explosion was seen as the plane crashed in a residential area, with many people feared to have been killed.
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Air India's chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a "tragic accident" and a "devastating event" and said emergency response teams are at the site.
He said: 'With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.
'At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
'We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.'
He added that he is being kept updated on the incident.
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First Minister John Swinney said: "Terrible news emerging from India this morning. Unimaginable pain for all those involved and affected by this incident. I extend my sympathy to all."
Air India said 169 of those on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft are Indian nationals, while 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portugese.
Twelve of those on board were crew members, while the remaining 232 were passengers.
Flight tracking website Flightrader24 said on social media that it received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC (shortly before 9.09am BST), "just seconds after take off".
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How did British passenger survive Air India plane crash?
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only survivor onboard the plane involved in Thursday's disaster in Ahmedabad. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people when it crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off. Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft's emergency exits. Footage posted on social media shows him being interviewed by Indian television news channel DD News while lying in a hospital bed. Another news channel, India TV, reported that he said: 'The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded. 'Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down.' He went on: 'At first, I thought I was dead. 'Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage. 'I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out. 'Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I still don't understand how I escaped.' Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times report that he said: 'I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me.' He also described how it felt like the plane was 'stuck in the air' within five to 10 seconds of taking off, and 'suddenly the lights started flickering green and white'. Professor Graham Braithwaite, director of aerospace and aviation at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, said Mr Ramesh's survival was 'a lovely surprise in a really, really tragic event'. (PA Graphics) He told the PA news agency: 'The aircraft was loaded with fuel and it crashed into a heavily populated area. 'I can only imagine that he was thrown from the wreckage, and that somehow as it crashed, what it hit managed to absorb some of the impact'. He went on: 'Looking at the scene, I would imagine that the disruption to the aircraft would have been huge. 'If anybody could have got out, then they probably could have just gone out in a gap in the fuselage. 'You'd struggle to infer from this, therefore, that is the seat you must always sit in. 'At the point that an aircraft like that hits a building and catches fire, there's probably not too much you can do in that situation beyond being lucky about where you're sat.'
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How did British passenger survive Air India plane crash?
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South Wales Argus
22 minutes ago
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How did British passenger survive Air India plane crash?
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only survivor onboard the plane involved in Thursday's disaster in Ahmedabad. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people when it crashed into a medical college shortly after take-off. Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft's emergency exits. Footage posted on social media shows him being interviewed by Indian television news channel DD News while lying in a hospital bed. Another news channel, India TV, reported that he said: 'The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded. 'Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down.' He went on: 'At first, I thought I was dead. 'Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage. 'I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out. 'Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I still don't understand how I escaped.' Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times report that he said: 'I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me.' He also described how it felt like the plane was 'stuck in the air' within five to 10 seconds of taking off, and 'suddenly the lights started flickering green and white'. Professor Graham Braithwaite, director of aerospace and aviation at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, said Mr Ramesh's survival was 'a lovely surprise in a really, really tragic event'. (PA Graphics) He told the PA news agency: 'The aircraft was loaded with fuel and it crashed into a heavily populated area. 'I can only imagine that he was thrown from the wreckage, and that somehow as it crashed, what it hit managed to absorb some of the impact'. He went on: 'Looking at the scene, I would imagine that the disruption to the aircraft would have been huge. 'If anybody could have got out, then they probably could have just gone out in a gap in the fuselage. 'You'd struggle to infer from this, therefore, that is the seat you must always sit in. 'At the point that an aircraft like that hits a building and catches fire, there's probably not too much you can do in that situation beyond being lucky about where you're sat.'
