More than 260 people have been killed after a London-bound Air India flight crashed in a residential area of Ahmedabad, with a British man being the sole survivor of those onboard.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner heading for 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.
Footage showed the aircraft climbing away from the runway then sinking back down towards the ground, before disappearing behind trees and bursting into flames. The plane crashed into a hostel housing medical students, doctors and their families in the Meghani Nagar residential area and at least 24 people on the ground died.
On Thursday night, Air India confirmed that 241 of those on board had been killed in the crash, with a Briton, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor. The combined death toll makes it the world’s worst aviation disaster for more than a decade.
India’s home minister, Amit Shah, said the intense heat caused by burning jet fuel meant that had been little chance for anyone who survived impact to escape. “There was 125,000 litres of fuel inside the plane and it caught heat so it was impossible to save anyone,” he said. The final death toll would only be known after the DNA testing had been completed on the victims’ remains, he said.
The cause of the crash is not yet known. A search team has found one of the two black boxes, though it is not clear whether it is the cockpit voice recorder, or the data recorder, which stores a flight’s real-time information.
Videos of the aftermath showed smoke rising over the area and firefighters on charred streets as people were moved on stretchers. In other images, people were seen assessing the damage while part of the mangled plane could be seen sticking out of a building. Pieces of the aircraft’s landing gear, fuselage and tail protruded from the wreckage. Residents said the crash sounded like a bomb blast and felt like an earthquake.
India’s aviation minister said a formal investigation had been opened. CCTV footage that shows the entire incident will be crucial evidence for investigators.
Ramesh, from London, described seeing bodies all around him after the crash.
“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” Ramesh, who still had his boarding pass, told the Hindustan Times. He said he had “impact injuries”, including bruising on his chest, eyes and feet, but was otherwise lucid and conscious.
“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. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
Footage filmed shortly after the crash showed Ramesh bloodied and limping as he walked to an ambulance. Police said he had been sitting in an emergency exit row and had managed to jump out.
The Ahmedabad police commissioner, Gyanendra Singh Malik, told ANI there was one survivor who was in seat 11A, which corresponded to Ramesh’s seat on the flight manifest.
Three of the Britons who died in the crash have been named as Akeel Nanabawa, his wife, Hannaa, and their four-year-old daughter, Sara, according to a statement posted by Gloucester Muslim Community on Facebook.
Air India’s chair, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, described the crash as a “tragic accident”.
A video obtained by local media showed the aircraft flying over a residential area before crashing, creating what appeared to be a large explosion.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm (9.09am BST) from runway 23. It issued a mayday call after which nothing more was heard from the flight deck.
The 242 people onboard included two pilots and 10 cabin crew. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, according to Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.
Chandrasekaran said a support team had been set up for families seeking information. In a post on X, he said: “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
“We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10m rupees (£86,000) to the families of those killed in the crash. The company said it would also cover the medical costs of those injured and provide support in the “building up” of the medical college hit by the plane.
India’s civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, posted on X that rescue teams had been mobilised and all efforts were being made to ensure medical aid and relief support was available at the site.
Residents told Agence France-Presse about the aftermath of the crash. “When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames. Many of the bodies were burned,” said Poonam Patni.
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said: “We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames. We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital.”
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said in a statement: “The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.”
The UK Foreign Office said officials were working with Indian authorities to establish the facts around the crash and provide support to those involved. Gatwick airport officials said a reception centre was being set up for relatives of the passengers.
The flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the signal from the aircraft was lost less than a minute after takeoff. In a post on X, it said: “We are following reports of a crash of Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London.
“We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC (shortly before 9.09am BST), just seconds after takeoff. The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB.”
This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
