Witnesses to the devastating Air India crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday have shared their horror as signal from the aircraft was lost “less than a minute after take off”.
A London-bound Air India passenger plane with 244 people on board dropped from the sky in north-western India. Social media footage and local television channels have shown smoke billowing from the crash site near the airport. According to Air India, there were 53 Britons on board the flight when it crashed in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than 5 million.
An eyewitness told Press Trust of India: “I was at home when we heard a massive sound. When we went out to see what had happened, there was a layer of thick smoke in the air. When we came here, dead bodies and debris from the crashed aircraft were scattered all over.”
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time.
There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the flight.
Gatwick Airport confirmed the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6.25pm in London, had crashed on departure.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site. He said: “We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation.”
The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.
Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment “our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.”
He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with the passengers and families of those on the Air India flight bound for Gatwick which crashed in Ahmedabad. He said: “The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating. I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”
