AHMEDABAD: At least 265 people were killed on Thursday after a London-bound Air India flight crashed in a residential area of Ahmedabad, with a British man being the sole survivor, according to police. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner heading for Landon Gatwick was carrying 242 people when it crashed minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time from Ahmedabad, the main city in the north-western state of Gujarat.
The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour.
An AFP journalist saw people recovering bodies and firefighters trying to douse the smouldering wreckage after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner hit buildings during lunchtime.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India´s flight 171 crashed after takeoff.
The AFP journalist saw a section of the plane lying on the ground and a building ablaze, with thick black smoke billowing into the air.
“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.
“The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.
Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.
India´s civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country´s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.
The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff” outside the airport perimeter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Ahmedabad, the main city of India´s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.
“When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.
“Many of the bodies were burned,” she said. The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.
A photograph published by India´s Central Industrial Security Force, a national security agency, showed the tail of the plane jutting from a building.
The plane came down in an area between a hospital and the city´s Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
The airport was shut, with all flights “suspended until further notice”, its operator said. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft — 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.
The airline´s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre had been set up with a support team for families seeking information.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.
According to Reuters, at least one person is known to have survived, police said, and the man told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after take-off.
Vidhi Chaudhary said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online.
“It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me,” he said. “Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.” He said that his brother Ajay was seated in a different row on the plane. “He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said.
Federal minister C R Patil said the dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state.
“Chances are there could be some more survivors among those who are in hospital,” police officer Chaudhary told Reuters. “There are also chances that the death toll will go up. More than 50 injured are in hospitals at present.”
Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters.
“Ahmedabad Civil Hospital students’ hostel, staff quarters and other residential areas are located in the area where the plane crashed,” Dwivedi said. “The residents of that area were also injured.”
India’s CNN News-18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of state-run B J Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, a source told Reuters.
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 on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
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.
“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.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39pm (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a Mayday call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
“If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said. Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell five percent as the crash posed a major setback for the planemaker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges.
Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyse cockpit data, India’s CNBC TV18 reported. The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would lead a team of US investigators travelling to India to help in the investigation.
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.
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 will provide 10 million Indian rupees (Rs33 million) to the families of each of the dead, cover all medical expenses of those injured and help rebuild the hostel of the medical college, chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.
In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.
India´s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “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 within the decade. 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.
Meanwhile, the Indian media reported that following Turkey’s support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Air India had officially announced termination of its maintenance agreement with Turkish Technic, a prominent aircraft maintenance company. Air India is now looking to send its wide-body B777 and B787 planes, whose heavy maintenance is being done by Turkish Technic, to other companies, the media reported. Air India CEO and MD told PTI, “It does take a while to adjust when the circumstances change around us.”
According to investigation by Anadolu’s Fact-Check Line, claims that the Air India plane that crashed in western India on Thursday was maintained by a Turkish company are false. Following the accident, numerous misleading social media posts claiming to show footage or information about the crash circulated online. Some posts claimed the passenger plane that went down had been maintained by Turkish Technic, a repair and overhaul centre operated by flag carrier Turkish Airlines.
Anadolu’s Fact-Check Line, the Turkiye’s news agency’s service to combat misinformation, reported that the aircraft involved in the crash was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, while the aircraft shown in photos online in front of Turkish Technic hangars was identified as a Boeing 777.
According to an April 9 Instagram post by Turkish Technic, its agreement with Air India covers full base maintenance operations specifically for its Boeing 777 fleet. Sources said that the agreement between Turkish Technic and Air India only covered Boeing 777 aircraft, which are serviced at hangars in Istanbul and have continued operations without issues.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was saddened by the tragic crash of Air India flight. In a post on X, he said, “We extend our condolences to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also expressed his condolences over loss of precious lives in the tragic Air India flight crash.
The deputy prime minister wrote on his official X wall: “Saddened at the crash of Air India flight in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Condolences over the loss of precious lives in this tragic incident.”
He also extended his sympathies with the families of the victims in this hour of grief.
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said: “Saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred earlier today.”
“Where an Air India flight with approximately 240 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff near Ahmedabad, India. I express my profound condolences to the people of India,” he added.
Reacting to the incident, three-time former prime minister and PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif said: “My heartfelt condolences to the families of the precious lives lost in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.”
He added: “This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the PIA also extended condolences to the families of all those who lost loved ones in the crash.
Taking to X, the spokesperson said: Our hearts go out to the families & loved ones affected by today’s tragic crash. At #PIA, we stand in solidarity with our fellow aviation community, offering our deepest condolences to Flight 171 and all those impacted.”
In a message to Indian PM Modi, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said: “We extend our deepest condolences to all the families who lost their dear ones at this tragic incident.”
“We stand in solidarity with the people and Government of India, and offer our full support in any form.”
EU President Ursula Von Der Leyen said: “My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones grieving this terrible loss.”
“Dear @narendramodi, Europe stands in solidarity with you and the people of India in this moment of sorrow.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted: “Please accept my deep condolences on the tragic consequences of the airliner crash at Ahmedabad airport.”
“Please convey words of sincere sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, as well as wishes of a swift recovery to all those injured in this catastrophe.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We have learned with deep emotion of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad, India. In this time of sorrow, I extend our heartfelt thoughts to the victims’ loved ones and to Prime Minister @NarendraModi.”
