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 on Thursday, 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, reports Reuters.
"The building on which it has crashed is a doctors` hostel... we have cleared almost 70 percent to 80 percent of the area and will clear the rest soon," a senior police officer told reporters.
India`s CNN News-18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of 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 on Thursday 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."
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 (0809 GMT) 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 BA.N shares fell 6.8 percent to $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."
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 spokesperson 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.
