One person survived as over 200 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital.
City police chief GS Malik told Reuters that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. There were no reports of survivors being found, and the Indian Express newspaper said all 242 on board had perished, citing police.
The majority of the people on board are feared dead, a top official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told The Print. Malik similarly said the same to the Associated Press, saying: “It appears there are no survivors.”
He later told Indian news agency ANI that there was one survivor who was under treatment.
Malik said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground.
Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said.
“The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel … we have cleared almost 70 per cent to 80pc of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters.
Air India said the Boeing 787-8 aircraft was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, adding that the injured were being taken to the nearest hospitals.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said signal from the plane was lost less than a minute after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38pm (1:18pm PKT).
According to air traffic control at the Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter, there was no response from the aircraft.
According to The Guardian: “The Air India tragedy in Ahmedabad is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed.
“While airlines using the Boeing plane have had widespread problems with engines on the 787 plane, leaving many having to ground planes and reduce flights, the 787’s safety record in service has been so far good,” the report by Guardian’s transport correspondent Gwyn Topham added.
Al Jazeera also reported that it was the “first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft”, citing the Aviation Safety Network database.
Rescue operations
Visuals from right after the crash showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport. TV channels also showed visuals of people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
In its statement, Air India detailed that 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian national were among the people on board, with the nationalities of the 12 others not specified. Times of India quoted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as saying that the 242 people comprised 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members.
The airline affirmed that it was giving its “full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident”. It also provided a dedicated passenger hotline number for more information: 1800 5691 444.
In a statement, Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran expressed “profound sorrow” over the tragic accident.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” said a statement shared by the Tata Group on X.
“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.”
The Air India chairman noted an emergency centre had been activated and a support team had been set up for families seeking information.
India’s Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said on X “many people” have died in the crash.
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu directed “all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action”.
“Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” he added.
“My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information.
In a separate statement on its website, it said, “We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”
Additionally, General Electric (GE) Aerospace, whose engines are often used for Boeing 787-8 airliners, wrote on X that they were “deeply saddened” by the crash and extended their sympathies to the families of those on board.
“We have activated our emergency response team, and we are prepared to support our customer and the investigation,” the company wrote.
London’s Gatwick airport said on X that more information on the crash would follow.
‘Heartbreaking beyond words’
Condolences poured in as leaders across the world reacted to the aviation incident.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his thoughts and prayers were with those affected by the heartbreaking tragedy.
“This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India,” said former PM Nawaz Sharif.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said he was saddened by the news and extended his condolences over the loss of lives. “Our sympathies are with the families of the victims in this hour of grief.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said he was “saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred”, mentioning the Air India crash.
“I express my profound condolences to the people of India,” he said on X.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us” and “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,” he said in a post on X.
India’s President Droupadi Murmu said she was “deeply distressed to learn about the tragic plane crash”.
“It is a heart-rending disaster. My thoughts and prayers are with the affected people. The nation stands with them in this hour of indescribable grief,” she said on X.
Home Minister Amit Shah said he was left “pained beyond words” by the tragic plane crash, adding that disaster response forces were “quickly rushed to the site”.
“Spoke with the Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Home Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi, and Commissioner of Police Ahmedabad to assess the situation,” he wrote.
The country’s foreign minister Subhramanyam Jaishankar also posted a message on X, expressing his condolences for the crash.
“Deeply shocked to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad,” he wrote. “Our prayers are with the passengers and their families.”
Britain’s King Charles is being kept updated about the incident, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
“My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning. 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,” the monarch said in a statement.
British PM Keir Starmer said the images emerging of the plane crash were “devastating”, and that he was being kept updated as the situation developed.
“My thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time,” Starmer said in a statement.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote on X that he was “deeply saddened by news of a devastating plane crash”.
“The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support,” he added.
Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim also extended his condolences to the families and loved ones of all those affected in the crash, saying he was “deeply distressed”.
“We share in India’s sorrow and stand in full solidarity as relief efforts continue,” he posted on X.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus extended his condolences to the families who lost relatives.
“We stand in solidarity with the people and government of India, and offer our full support in any form,” he said.
Boeing shares fall 8pc after Air India Dreamliner jet crashes
The fatal crash tarnishes the Dreamliner jet’s safety record and could muddy Boeing’s efforts to rebuild trust related to safety and ramp up production under new Chief Executive Officer Kelly Orthberg.
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier, and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the jet, also fell about 4pc each.
Boeing’s shares were down about 8pc at $196.75 in premarket trading.
“It’s a knee-jerk reaction [to the incident] and there’s revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years,” said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group.
India’s aviation accident history
In August 2020, an Air India Express plane crash-landed at Kerala’ state’s Kozhikode airport, claiming the lives of 21 people, including 19 passengers and the flight’s two pilots, and injuring 76.
In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.
In one of the worst aviation disasters in India, two passenger planes collided mid-air near New Delhi in 1996, with the loss of all 349 on board both flights.
Decades earlier, an Air India Boeing 747 flying from Montreal to London in June 1985 crashed into the sea off Ireland with 329 people on board and leaving no survivors.
India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years, International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Willie Walsh last month calling growth “nothing short of phenomenal”.
The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.
Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft — 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.
India’s domestic air passenger traffic reached a milestone last year by “surpassing 500,000 passengers in a single day”, according to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation.
