At least 30 killed as Air India plane with 242 on board crashes near Ahmedabad
An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad. (AFP pic)
AHMEDABAD : At least 30 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad today, with the toll expected to climb, authorities said.
'The plane was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital,' Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a residential area near the airport.
'The building on which it has crashed is a doctors' hostel… we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,' a senior police officer told reporters.
India's CNN News18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of the state-run BJ Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well.
It showed a visual of a portion of the aircraft perched atop the building.
Rescue workers said that at least 30 to 35 bodies had been recovered from the site and that more people were trapped.
The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants a source told Reuters.
'Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian,' Air India said.
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
'The plane that crashed today flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014,' Flightradar24 said.
'At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,' Air India said on X.
'The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,' it said.
Crash just after take-off
The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported.
One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge jet of fire can be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.
They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
'My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,' Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed.
'My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,' she said.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm from runway 23.
It gave a 'Mayday' call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
Flightradar24 also said that it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.
Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information.
Boeing shares fell 6.8% to US$199.13 in pre-market trade.
Britain was working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the country's foreign office said in a statement posted on its website.
'The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. 'It is heartbreaking beyond words,' he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were 'devastating', and that he was being kept informed as the situation developed.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said King Charles was also being kept updated.
Modi's home state
The Indian aviation minister's office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed it to ensure all support was extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Ahmedabad Airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect. The airport is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate.
'We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy of Air India Flight 171,' Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the group, posted on X.
'Our hearts go out to the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. We are working closely with all authorities and extending full support to the families on the ground,' he said.
The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.
The airline's Boeing-737 overshot a 'table-top' runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India.
The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.
Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara – a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.
Tata said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Survival and loss in Air India plane disaster
AHMEDABAD: Grieving families are mourning at least 279 killed when a London-bound passenger jet crashed in India, with the victims in Ahmedabad ranging from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. One man on board the plane, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, miraculously survived the fiery crash on Thursday afternoon. But that lone British citizen was the only story of escape from the jet. 'I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time,' said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit from Britain. 'And now, there is nothing,' he said, breaking down in tears. 'Whatever the gods wanted has happened.' 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. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. The nose and front wheel of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner landed on a canteen building where medical students were having lunch. Mohit Chavda, 25, a junior doctor in Ahmedabad, described how he escaped through choking black smoke after the plane smashed into the dining hall. 'There was almost zero visibility,' Chavda said. 'We were not able to see even who was sitting beside us -- so we just ran from there.' Scorch marks scar the buildings, where chunks of the plane were embedded into its walls. 'He caught fire' Among the dead was Vijay Rupani, 68, a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party and former chief minister of Gujarat state. But they also included teenager Akash Patni, who Indian media reported had been snoozing under a tree in the fierce heat of the day near his family's tea stall in Ahmedabad. 'He caught fire in front of my eyes,' his mother Kalpesh Patni said, weeping as she talked to the Indian Express newspaper. 'I won't be able to live without him.' Businessman Suresh Mistry, 53, said his daughter Kinal was a trained dancer, an excellent cook and a yoga enthusiast. A chef in London, she had been visiting her family in India and postponed her flight to stay a few more days. Mistry described the last time he spoke to her, when she called to say the plane was about to take off and he could head back home without any worry. He said he couldn't stop thinking about how, if she had stuck to her original plan, 'she would have been alive'.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
India plane crash death toll rises to 279
AHMEDABAD:Grieving families waited Saturday for news after one of the deadliest air disasters in decades, with the toll rising to 279 people killed in the Indian passenger jet crash. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings. On Saturday, a police source said that 279 bodies had been recovered from the crash site in the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad, one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century. There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. 'I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time,' said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit before boarding the Air India flight. 'And now, there is nothing,' he said, breaking down in tears. 'Whatever the gods wanted has happened.' Search for black box Distraught relatives of passengers have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad, with some having to fly to India to help the process. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Those killed ranged from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said even he could not explain how he survived. 'Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Friday that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would 'significantly aid' investigations. Forensic teams are still looking for the second black box, as they probe why the plane crashed after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
FACTBOX-What is known about the Air India crash and its investigation
A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. - Photo: Reuters NEW DELHI: Air India's deadly plane crash on Thursday (June 12) that killed at least 270 people has triggered a wave of speculation about what led to the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade, but authorities are slowly narrowing down areas of investigation. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most advanced jets in service and experts say it has a generally strong safety record, with no previous fatal accidents. Here's what is known about the air crash so far: VISUAL EVIDENCE One of the strongest pieces of evidence that investigators are reviewing is a 59-second CCTV video clip that clearly shows the takeoff and the crash of the plane from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad city, western Gujarat state. The CCTV camera was located on the far left of the runway near a wall with barbed wire. The video shows that the Tata Group-owned Air India plane takes off, gains some altitude, flies flat for a couple of seconds, and then starts descending with its tail down. The descent of the plane starts roughly 17 seconds after takeoff. There is no fire visible around the engine or elsewhere when the plane appears to start going down, and has already crossed the airport boundary wall. The landing gear visibly remains open throughout the clip. It took roughly 33 seconds from wheels-up for the plane to crash, erupting into a huge fireball. WHERE DID THE PLANE FALL The plane crashed into the B.J. Medical College hostel. Images of the dining area shortly after the incident showed wheels and other parts of the aircraft embedded in the walls, while debris and belongings of the students, including clothes and books, lay scattered on the floor. Steel tumblers and plates still containing food lay on the few tables that were left intact. A strong stench of jet fuel hung in the air at the site on Friday, as authorities used cranes to remove charred trees and debris. POSSIBLE CAUSES Air India officials and scores of Indian government investigators have been at the crash site since Thursday. No initial findings have been disclosed so far, but investigators are considering at least three key possible issues, according to a source with direct knowledge. Investigators are assessing if there are any issues related to engine thrust, which is the force produced by the engine to push it forward through the air. Investigators are also looking at any possible operational issues with flaps. Anti-terror squads have also been part of the investigation teams. Officials are also assessing why was the landing gear was open for so long after takeoff. A possible bird strike is not a focus of the probe. The source added that officials are also looking at any possible fault of Air India, including any possible maintenance issues. WHERE'S THE BLACK BOX? India's aviation ministry has said investigators and rescue workers recovered the digital flight data recorder - one of the two black boxes on the plane - from the rooftop of the building on which the jet crashed. There was no information on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, which is also crucial to the probe. India's aviation regulator has conducted additional maintenance actions on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including "one-time check" of the take-off parameters before the departure of every flight from midnight of June 15. The airline has also been asked to conduct electronic engine control tests and engine fuel related checks. - Reuters
