By Owen Evans
A London-bound Air India plane with more than 200 people on board crashed near the airport in India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787, crashed into a residential area five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press.
There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard and emergency teams have been activated at the airport, Kidwai said.
Without giving specific numbers, India’s federal health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said on X: “The news of many people being killed in the plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat is extremely sad.”
In statement, Air India said that there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals on board.
“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,” it said.
Visuals shared by the news agency ANI on X showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.
ANI also reported on X that India’s aviation regulator (DGCA) said that the aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
It said that the plane’s pilot, Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, is an experienced LTC (line training captain) with 8,200 hours of experience and that his copilot had 1,100 hours of flying experience.
Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel said that he has instructed officials to “take immediate rescue and relief operations” and to make “arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured passengers on a war footing.”
“I have also instructed officials to arrange a green corridor to transport the injured passengers for treatment and to ensure all necessary medical arrangements are made at the hospital on priority,” Patel wrote in a social media post.
In a statement posted to X, Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed Air India Flight 171 “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,” he said.
“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.”
Chandrasekaran made the statement on the official handle of the Tata Group as he is the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group.
London’s Gatwick Airport confirmed the plane travelling from Ahmedabad was due to land at 18:25 pm UK time.
In a statement on X, Gatwick Airport said, “We can confirm that flight AI171 that crashed on departure from Ahmedabad Airport today was due to land at London Gatwick at 18:25.”
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