A London-bound Air India plane with 242 people on board crashed shortly after take-off in India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, erupting in a fireball after it came down on a densely populated part of the city.
Police said that at least 290 people had died and that there appeared to be one survivor on board the jet. The plane crashed into a hostel used by local doctors. The aircraft's tail was left sticking out of the building.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner departed at 1.39pm (12.09pm UAE time) from runway 23. It gave a “mayday” call, but there was no response after that.
The plane was heading to London's Gatwick Airport and had been due to land at 6.25pm UK time.
Air India confirmed Flight 171 had been involved in a “tragic accident” and crashed near the airport, which is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate. It was shut with all flights “suspended until further notice”, the operator said.
Mobile phone footage taken from a rooftop showed the plane with its nose raised flying low over the city before hitting the ground and bursting into flames, sending heavy smoke across the city of eight million people.
Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national from Leicester, is believed to be the only survivor of the crash and was sitting in seat 11A. He was seen in video footage walking unsteadily from the crash site and has “no idea” how he escaped the plane, according to relatives.
“We were just shocked as soon as we heard it,” said relative Nayan Kumar Ramesh. “He said 'I have no idea how I exited the plane'.”
The crash site was in an area between Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and the city's Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
“With profound sorrow, I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad [to] London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today,” Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.”
An emergency centre has been set up and a support team is available for families seeking information, he added.
Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said that he had called Mr Chandrasekaran to offer the company's full support, adding Boeing stands ready to support an investigation being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. Boeing said it would defer to provide information about the flight.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” Mr Ortberg said.
Air India said of the 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew, there were 169 from India, 53 from Britain, seven from Portugal and one from Canada. Eleven children were understood to be on board.
Rescue workers said that at least 30 to 35 bodies had been recovered from the crash site and that more people were trapped. Medical students were eating in the dining area of the state-run BJ Medical College hostel when the plane crashed.
City police commissioner GS Malik, speaking before it emerged one passenger had walked away from the wreckage, said there “appears to be no survivor in the crash”. He added: “And since the plane has fallen on an area which was residential and had some offices, there are more casualties as well.”
Air India owner Tata Sons said it was “deeply anguished” by the crash and would cover the medical expenses of those injured as well as pay one crore ($133,600) to the families of each person who died.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the crash as “heartbreaking beyond words”.
The UK government would provide “all the support that it can”, cabinet minister Lucy Powell said. 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. I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”
President Sheikh Mohamed said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic plane accident in Ahmedabad today.” He said the thoughts of everyone in the UAE were with Mr Modi and the people of India, “and we offer our heartfelt condolences to all those affected”.
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had offered to help India with the recovery and called the crash “terrible”. The National Transportation Safety Board said it will lead a team of US investigators to India to assist the AAIB with its investigation.
“It’s a big country, a strong country, and they’ll handle it, I’m sure, but I let them know that anything we can do will be over there immediately,” he said.
India's Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was “shocked and devastated” at the crash. His “thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families”, he added.
“I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and co-ordinated action,” Mr Kinjarapu said. “Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site.”
Fatal crashes
Saurabh Bhatnagar told Indian news TV channel New Delhi Television the incident appeared to involve “multiple bird hits” that knocked out the engines.
He said: “The take-off was perfect and just short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.”
He added that footage showed the plane “came down in a controlled fashion”.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the last signal from the plane had been received only seconds after take-off.
It said the aircraft involved was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB. Boeing said it was “working to gather more information” on the incident. The US manufacturer, which has seen its reputation dented after a series of safety concerns, saw its stock slide about 8 per cent in early US trading following the crash before recovering slightly.
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 on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing about 350 people.
In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.
An Air India Boeing 747 flying from Montreal to London crashed into the sea off Ireland in June 1985, killing all 329 people on board.
An Indian commission determined that militant Sikhs had planted a bomb in baggage being carried by the plane.
The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm, when 21 people were killed.
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.
Phenomenal growth
India's airline industry has boomed in recent years, with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, last month calling the growth “nothing short of phenomenal”.
The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world's fourth-largest air market – domestic and international – with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest in the decade.
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 – last year.
Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft – 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.
India's domestic air passenger traffic reached a milestone last year by “surpassing 500,000 passengers in a single day”, according to India's Ministry of Civil Aviation.
