Hundreds of people are dead after an Air India flight destined for London crashed moments after it took off and crashed into a building on Thursday, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
However, one passenger, a British man visiting family, appears to have miraculously survived.
The airline said 241 people were killed when the Boeing Dreamliner bound for Gatwick came down in a residential area in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
There had been 242 people on board, including 11 children and 12 crew members. Among the passengers were 169 Indians, 53 British people, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian.
Downing Street warned that the British public should be prepared for a significant loss of British lives, and MP Bob Blackman said some of his constituents in London had been notified of the deaths of their relatives.
Three of the Britons who died in the crash were identified by the Gloucester Muslim Community as Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
Abdullah Samad, headteacher of Sara’s primary school, said she was a “ray of sunshine” and that her parents were known for their charity work.
The Gloucester Muslim Community offered “sincere and deepest condolences” in a statement after news of their death.
“During this moment of overwhelming sorrow, our hearts go out to all those left behind,” the statement added. “No words can truly ease the pain of such a profound loss, but we pray that the family may find solace in the tremendous outpouring of compassion and solidarity from communities across the world.”
A British couple who ran a spiritual wellness company were also among the victims.
Jamie Ray Greenlaw-Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, from London, were returning home after a 10-day retreat, their family said.
Earlier this year, Mr Greenlaw-Meek had appeared on ITV's This Morning. Former editor Martin Frizell praised his “vibrancy” on Instagram, writing: “So so sad to hear that Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek and his partner are reported to be among the passengers and crew killed today on board the Air India flight bound for Gatwick. I remember his visit to the studio in January, he was passionate about auras and although I’m a sceptical sort his vibrancy and sheer enthusiasm won folk over.”
According to a BBC report, West London residents Javed and his wife Mariam Syed, alongside their two young children were also on the plane, as were Adam Taju, 72, and his wife Hasina, 70, with their 51-year-old son-in-law, Altafhusen Patel.
Plumes of smoke billowed from the crash site after the plane erupted into a huge fireball when it struck a medical college not far from the airport.
Some medical students in the building jumped to escape just before the plane hit.
Emergency services rushed to douse the charred wreckage, as well as several surrounding multi-storey buildings.
As the emergency effort continued into Thursday evening more than 200 bodies had been removed from the crash site.
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The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.38pm local time (9.08am BST), but crashed just moments later. 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.
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, initially said 294 people were dead, including students in the building that was hit, but later revised the death toll down to more than 240, after it was realised that body parts had led to some double-counting.
“We are still verifying the number of dead, including those killed in the building where the plane crashed,” she said.
College dean Minakshi Parikh told reporters that four students living in the hostel as well as a doctor’s wife had died and 19 were injured, according to Hindustan Times. “Two third-year students are untraceable. A doctor’s wife was also killed while two relatives of other doctors were injured. Three members of a doctor’s family went missing after the incident,” she said.
Dhaval Gameti, president of the resident doctors’ association at the college, said 50-60 people had been injured.
Ramila, the mother of one, said 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.
The dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.
Relatives have been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said.
The cause of the tragedy is yet to be established but investigations are under way. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said videos showed that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
One of the black boxes from the aircraft has been found and a search is on for the other.
Indian home minister Amit Shah said heat from the burning jet fuel was so intense that the chances of survival were minimal and made rescue efforts impossible.
“There was 125,000 litres of fuel inside the plane and it caught heat so it was impossible to save anyone,” he said, adding that the final death toll could only be confirmed after DNA testing was completed.
A formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Indian civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said.
“The government is constituting a high-level committee comprising experts from multiple disciplines to examine the matter in detail,” he said.
The US and the UK are also sending teams to India to assist in the investigation.
The sole survivor was 40-year-old Briton Viswashkumar Ramesh, who told local media how the disaster unfolded.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” Mr Ramesh told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in his name. “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. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
“We were just shocked as soon as we heard it. I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We're devastated, just devastated. He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane,’” Mr Ramesh’s brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, told PA at their family home in Leicester.
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The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain 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. A team of US experts will travel to India to help with the investigation, America’s National Transportation Safety Board said.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said the crash had “stunned and saddened” the country. “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,” he wrote. Mr Modi visited the crash site and a local hospital on Friday morning.
UK political leaders have also expressed their heartbreak after the Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said “the scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating”, adding he was being kept updated as the situation develops.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said he was deeply saddened by the news, and the UK was working with authorities in India “to urgently establish the facts and provide support”. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “heartbreaking” news.
The King said he and Queen Camilla had been “desparately shocked”. “Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones,” King Charles wrote.
Condolences poured in from other leaders around the world.
“We share your shock and grief on this tragic day. We all pray for as many lives to be saved as possible and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
US president Donald Trump called the crash “terrible” and the US government said the Federal Aviation Administration was working with Boeing and aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace in the investigation.
India’s civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu inspected the crash site on Thursday evening, and said it was a “deeply distressing” scene.
“We're doing everything we can to support the victims and their families in this tragic hour,” he wrote.
Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended all flight operations after the crash, said it was operational again but with limited flights.
The last fatal plane crash in India, the world's third-largest aviation market, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.
Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information about what had happened. Boeing shares fell 5% 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.
Families in India with concerns should call Air India on 1800 5691 444. For those outside India, call the British Foreign Office on 020 7008 5000
The airline has also set up assistance centres for friends and relatives at the airports in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Gatwick to “provide support and take care of the needs of the families and loved ones”.
The centres are also facilitating travel for family members to Ahmedabad, it said on X.
