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. According to police and India’s federal health minister, many people were killed in the crash.
Air India reported the plane was on its way to Britain’s Gatwick Airport, but police said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
A senior police officer told the press, “The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel… we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon.”
A source told Reuters that the 242 victims included 217 adults and 11 children. Air India reported that 169 of them were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian.
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Flightradar24 reported that the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most advanced passenger aircraft in service.
“Currently, we are confirming the details and will provide further updates,” Air India stated on X. “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”
Television outlets stated that the crash occurred shortly after the plane took off. One channel showed the plane take off over a residential area before disappearing, followed by a massive jet of fire 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 on stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39 p.m. (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
