The first British victims of the Air India crash have been named. Just moments after Air India Flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, on Thursday, it plummeted to the ground and exploded on impact. There are no survivors.
Air India were quick to confirm 53 British nationals were on board travelling to London Gatwick Airport, tragically now the first of them has been identified as Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual wellness centre and yoga studio.
Making up the rest of the 242 passengers and crew on the aircraft, were 169 Indian nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.
Footage circulating on social media shows the doomed airliner gliding towards the ground over a heavily residential area close to Ahmedabad airport in the west of India before bursting into flames.
A chilling mayday call from pilots of the doomed Air India Boeing flight that crashed in Ahmedabad this morning revealed the aircraft may have been suffering engine failure.
The Express understands that the last words heard over the radio during a Mayday call that Air Traffic Control did not have time to respond to were “engine failure”.
The airline’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran said: “With profound sorrow, I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating from Ahmedabad to 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.”
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