An Air India flight bound for London with more than 240 people on board including British and Indian citizens has crashed shortly after takeoff at a western Indian airport.
India’s civil aviation authority confirmed the flight the Boeing 787 aircraft took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.39pm local time (8.09am BST) but crashed just minutes later into a residential area.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the flight made a mayday call to air traffic control, but there was no response to subsequent calls made by controllers to the aircraft.
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Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the Directorate of Civil Aviation, told The Associated Press that the fligh crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off.
There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard and emergency teams have been activated at the airport, he said.
Among the passengers, there were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian, Reuters reports.
Video and images from the city show plumes of smoke pouring from the wreckage of a plane fuselage in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
This is the first major crash involving Air India since its privatisation and takeover by the Tata Group in January 2022.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu expressed his condolences and assured swift action.
“Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” he posted on X.
“Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families,” he added.
“My prayers are with all the people on board the plane and their families.”
Air India confirmed flight AI171, flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was “involved in an incident” on Thursday.
“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest on http://airindia.com and on our X handle,” the airline said on X.
The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain (LTC) with 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.
There were 10 other crew members on board the flight, the DGCA said.
London Gatwick confirmed the flight was due to arrive later today.
“We can confirm that flight AI171 that crashed on departure from Ahmedabad Airport today was due to land at London Gatwick at 18:25,” the airport said in a statement on X.
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