In what is now confirmed as the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in over a decade, all but one of the 242 passengers on board an Air India flight bound for the United Kingdom, have died after the aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which departed Ahmedabad Airport at 1:39pm local time, crashed into a residential area, slamming into the doctors’ hostel of the B.J. Medical College during the lunch hour.
Authorities said the aircraft gave a “Mayday” call before all communication ceased.
According to city police chief G.S. Malik, 204 bodies had been recovered by late afternoon. “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 senior police officer said at the scene. There were fears that in addition to passengers, people on the ground, including medical students, were also killed.
The Indian Express, citing police sources, reported that all 242 people on board the plane had perished. The death toll includes 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. However, a Briton has been reported to survived the plane crash.
Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, according to Air India.
Witnesses described terrifying scenes as the plane came down. “My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,” said Poonam Patel, speaking from a government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a medical student at the hostel, said her son narrowly escaped death. “My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,” she told reporters.
Television footage showed thick black smoke rising from the site, flames engulfing the crash area, and emergency responders carrying bodies and injured victims on stretchers. The tail section of the plane was seen lodged on the rooftop of the hostel building.
Aviation tracking service Flightradar24 confirmed that the aircraft sent its last signal just seconds after take-off. Notably, the landing gear was still down at a point where it should have been retracted, raising concerns about possible mechanical or technical failure. “If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” said Anthony Brickhouse, a US aerospace safety consultant.
This is the first fatal crash involving the Dreamliner aircraft model, which entered commercial service in 2011. The ill-fated aircraft first flew in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014.
US-based engine manufacturer GE Aerospace is reportedly dispatching a team to India to help analyze the flight and cockpit data. Boeing also confirmed that it was working with Indian and international investigators to gather more information. The incident has already impacted Boeing’s stock, which dropped 6.8% in pre-market trading.
Global reactions poured in following the news of the crash. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the emerging images as “devastating,” while Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles and Queen Camilla were “desperately shocked” by the crash. “My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning,” the monarch said in a statement.
The British Foreign Office stated it was working closely with Indian authorities to establish facts and provide consular support to affected families.
Meanwhile, relatives of the victims have been asked to provide DNA samples to assist in identifying the remains, according to Dhananjay Dwivedi, state health secretary.
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