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.
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
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Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
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Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
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The Specs:
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The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
