London-bound plane with 242 passengers, crew crashes after take-off in India
A plane carrying 242 people, including 53 British nationals, to London Gatwick has crashed in India.
Local police have said there appear to be no survivors after the plane came down in a residential area near Ahmedabad Airport shortly after take-off.
A fireball can be seen in footage as the Air India flight crashed, hitting a doctors’ hostel in the north-western city in Gujarat state.
Video circulating on social media shows massive plumes of thick black smoke rising into the sky near after the crash.
Other footage shows debris at the scene on fire and people being moved in stretchers and taken away in ambulances.
Air India said flight AI171, which departed from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick at 1.38pm local time, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members.
They include 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national.
“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,” the airline said.
Ahmedabad Airport said the plane crashed “shortly after take-off, outside the airport”. Flights were suspended until shortly after 4pm local time.
In a statement, London Gatwick said the flight was due to land at 6.25pm UK time on Thursday and a reception centre for relatives of those on board is being set up where information and support will be provided.
Flight tracking website Flightradar said a signal was last received from the aircraft less than a minute after take-off.
It is the first ever crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The model, a widebody, twin-engine plane, has made five million journeys in the 14 years since its first passenger flight.
Prime Minister Sir 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 said he was being kept updated as the situation develops, while Buckingham Palace said the King was also being kept informed.
An airport spokesperson said all flights to and from Ahmedabad have been suspended.
The foreign office said the UK is “working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved”.
British nationals who require consular assistance are advised to call 020 7008 5000, while Air India has set up a hotline to provide information on 1800 5691 444.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us.
“It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”
India’s civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was “shocked and devastated” to learn about the crash.
“We are on highest alert,” he said. “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.”
Aviation expert Julian Bray told Sky News he understands the pilot managed to make a mayday call, meaning the crew was aware of a problem before the crash.
Air India was acquired by Tata Group from the Indian government in January 2022 after racking up billions of pounds of losses.
The group now operates more than 8,300 weekly flights on 312 routes, connecting more than 100 domestic and international destinations with a fleet of 300 aircraft.
The airline’s chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a “tragic accident” and a “devastating event” and said emergency response teams were at the site.
“At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families,” he said.
“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.”
A Boeing spokesperson said: “We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”
[Sky News]