Air India Plane Crash Updates: Over 200 Feared Dead

The Hindu

2 days ago

Published : Jun 12, 2025 18:14 IST - 8 MINS READ
A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in a crowded residential area minutes after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12. Many people were feared killed.
More than 200 people have died after the plane crashed, Kanan Desai, a top city police officer, told Reuters. Ahmedabad's city police commissioner told AP that there do not appear to have been any survivors from the plane that crashed, and that there are likely also casualties from the area of the city where it went down.
The pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said. In a video recorded by a resident, the twin-engine wide-bodied aircraft could be seen losing altitude rapidly and crashing in a ball of fire that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani was reported to be among the 230 passengers and 12 crew members on the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick airport. According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
The aircraft crashed near the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of the City Civil Hospital and B.J. Medical College in Meghaninagar near the city's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
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'The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,' according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Visuals from the wreckage area showed charred bodies being pulled out and the injured, many with burns, wheeled into the city's civil hospital close by. This is India's biggest air disaster since 2020, when an Air India Express flight skidded off a wet runway while landing at Kozhikode in Kerala and split into two. Of the 190 people on board, 21, including two pilots, lost their lives.
Intense blaze, say eyewitnesses
Eyewitnesses in Ahmedabad said the blaze was so intense that it led to at least one multi-storey building being burnt and trees being singed. Airport operations in the city were temporarily suspended.
'The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X. '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,' he added.
Modi also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, asking them to go to Ahmedabad and ensure all possible assistance to those affected in the tragedy, sources said.
Naidu expressed shock at the plane crash and said he was personally monitoring the situation. 'We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,' he said in a post on X in the afternoon.
The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal, along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal has 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the DGCA said in a statement. Immediately after departure from Runway 23, the aircraft fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter, it said.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will probe the plane crash, according to an official. AAIB Director General and Director of Investigation at the agency, among others, will be leaving for Ahmedabad, the official said.
Under the Civil Aviation Ministry, the AAIB is responsible for classifying safety occurrences involving aircraft operating in Indian airspace as either accidents or serious incidents. It carries out detailed investigations into accidents and also suggests measures to improve safety.
The world's worst air crashes in recent years
Below are some of the fatal crashes that have occurred in recent years.
2025
UNITED STATES: More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
2024
SOUTH KOREA: Jeju Air international flight 7C2216 crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, killing all 175 passengers and four of the six crew in the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
KAZAKHSTAN: Azerbaijan Airlines international flight J2-8243, an Embraer E190, crashed on December 25 after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said in December that the plane had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia. Moscow has not confirmed this.
JAPAN: A Japan Airlines (JAL) plane collided with a smaller Coast Guard aircraft on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda airport on January 2. All 379 people aboard the JAL plane, an Airbus A350-941 flight, escaped the burning airliner. Five of six crew on the smaller aircraft were killed.
2022
CHINA: A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed into a mountainous region in the southwestern Guangxi region on March 21, 2022, killing all 132 people on board, in China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.
2020
IRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 on Jan. 8, 2020, shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator.
2019
ETHIOPIA: A Boeing 737-MAX 8 Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on March 19, 2019, minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.
Soon after, the Boeing 737 MAX global fleet was grounded over safety concerns.
2018
INDONESIA: A Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea soon after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on board.
2014
MALAYSIA: Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. All 298 passengers on board were killed.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The remains of the Boeing 777 and the 239 people have not been found.
'Plane was flying very low'
Visuals from the area showed mangled metal of the wreckage, snarls of tangled wire and smoke rising from the charred remnants. Aviation sources said the aircraft climbed just about 600-800 feet before it plummeted to the ground.
'The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of civil hospital and BJ Medical college,' Haresh Shah, an eyewitness, told a news agency. 'There are several five floor buildings which are residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff. Many people in those apartments were injured as along with the plane the buildings also caught fire,' he said. Another eyewitness said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.
Expressing his profound sorrow, Air India chairperson N. Chandrasekaran said an emergency centre has been activated and support teams set up for families seeking information. '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. Further updates will be shared as we receive more verified information,' he said in a post on X.
Based on the number of people on board, this would be the worst commercial airline crash since MH17 in 2014, which was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people, according to Aviation Safety Network, which tracks fatal crashes. The last crash of this magnitude for Air India was Flight 182 in 1985. The Boeing 747 aircraft was destroyed by a bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 people on board.
Boeing said in a statement that it was aware of the 'initial reports' of the crash and is working to gather more information. Boeing has been involved in several accidents in recent years, including two fatal crashes with Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Early in 2024, a nearly-new 737 Max aircraft lost a door panel during flight. While there were no fatalities, the accident plunged the company into a deep crisis.
The tragedy on June 12 is the second major air disaster in Gujarat's principal city. On October 19, 1988, an Indian Airlines plane crashed in its final approach to the Ahmedabad airport, killing 130 people.
Shock and grief over tragedy
Union Ministers expressed shock at the crash of the London-bound Air India flight and extended heartfelt condolences to the family members of passengers on the ill-fated flight.
'Distressed on hearing about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. My prayers for all families and friends of those on board the flight,' Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a post on social media platform X.
Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Piyush Goyal also expressed grief at the tragic accident.
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The Congress party expressed shock and grief over the tragedy, and said that party workers have been directed to assist in rescue and relief measures. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he is shocked at the plane crash tragedy and that it is heart-wrenching to see the horrific visuals. He also expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the crash and urged party workers to provide all support to the victims and their loved ones. 'It's heart-wrenching to see the horrific visuals. Our heartfelt sympathies, thoughts and prayers with the families of the passengers, pilot and the crew,' he said in a post on X.
Former Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said the Ahmedabad Air India crash is heart-breaking. 'The pain and anxiety the families of the passengers and crew must be feeling is unimaginable. My thoughts are with each one of them in this incredibly difficult moment. Urgent rescue and relief efforts by the administration are critical - every life matters, every second counts. Congress workers must do everything they can to help on the ground,' he said in a post on X.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai and other judges of the Supreme Court expressed their deepest sympathies to the families affected by the air crash.
A release issued by the top court said: 'The Chief Justice of India and Companion Judges of the Supreme Court of India, along with the officials of the Registry express deepest condolence to the families affected by the tragic air crash at Ahmedabad today.'
CJI Gavai also expressed his concern for the residents of the B.J. Medical College where the London-bound Air India plane crashed, causing severe damage to buildings in the premises. 'During this difficult times our thoughts and prayers are with them. May they find strength and solace in the support of their loved ones,' the CJI said.
(with inputs from agencies)