NEW DELHI — An Air India flight to London with 242 people on board crashed soon after it took off in the western city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, the airline said on Thursday without giving details about fatalities and injuries.
But a local police commissioner told The Associated Press, “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.”
Air India posted on X that the plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members. Of them, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 British, 1 Canadian and 7 Portuguese. This is the first crash involving a 787 aircraft.
The plane crashed near the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X: “Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
Buckingham Palace has released a statement saying that King Charles is being updated on the crash. British Foreign Minister David Lammy said that crisis centers have been set up in India and the U.K.
A local TV quoted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation as saying that the aircraft “made a mayday call just before the crash.”
Footage on Indian private TV channel, WION, showed the plane flying low before disappearing from view. A ball of fire followed by a thick plume of smoke engulfing the area quickly appeared from where the plane fell out of sight. Separate footage showed some injured people being taken to hospital.
An airport spokesperson said in a statement that the flight crashed shortly near the airport. As a result, the airport in Ahmedabad “is currently not operational,” the spokesperson said. “All flight operations are temporarily suspended until further notice.”
Tata Group-owned Air India chairman N. Chandrasekaran mourned the crash. “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today,” he said in a statement posted by Tata Group on X. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.”
The post said that the company was assisting emergency response teams and providing all necessary support and care to those impacted, adding that it had set up an emergency center for families.
Boeing’s safety has come under scrutiny over the last few years. The door of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, carrying 177 passengers, blew out in January last year. The plane, enroute to Ontario in California, was forced to return to Portland, Oregon.
That accident followed two fatal crashes involving Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft — in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia five months later.
Perth-based aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told BBC News, “I am just wondering if, in fact, there was some possible error in the cockpit … It’s very unusual for the undercarriage to still be down a minute or two after takeoff.”
He said that undercarriages are usually retracted within 10 to 15 seconds of takeoff.
Additional reporting by Tay Han Nee in London.
