Hundreds of people are dead after an Air India flight destined for London crashed moments after it took off in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.
However one passenger – a British national visiting family – appears to have miraculously survived. At least 240 people were killed when the Boeing Dreamliner bound for Gatwick came down in a residential area, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
There were 242 people on board, including 11 children. Among the passengers, there were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian.
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. Emergency services rushed to douse the charred wreckage of the plane as well as several surrounding multistory 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), India’s civil aviation authority confirmed, 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.
“Approximately 294 have died,” Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer said. “This includes some students as the plane crashed on the building where they were staying.”
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told news agency ANI 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 cause of the tragic crash has yet to be established but investigations are ongoing. US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
The man reported to be the sole survivor of the crash was 40-year-old British national 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 that name online. “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.”
Three of the Britons who died in the crash were named by the Gloucester Muslim Community on Facebook as Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
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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 said on X.
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” by the terrible crash. “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 said in a statement on X.
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 secretary of state Marco Rubio said his prayers went to the families who have lost loved ones in the crash.
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 said on X.
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 and its fastest growing, 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
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