An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, the airline and police said, without specifying whether there were any fatalities.
The plane was headed to Gatwick airport in the UK, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
The 242 people included 217 adults and 11 children, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 43 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X.
The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge cloud of fire rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.
They also showed visuals of people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39 p.m. from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
Flightradar24 also said that it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.
“The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB,” it said.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The Indian aviation minister’s office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed it to ensure all support is extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
All relevant agencies are on high alert and coordinated efforts were underway, the aviation minister’s office added.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Ahmedabad airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect.
The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.
The airline’s Boeing-737 overshot a “table-top” runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.
Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara—a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines—in 2024.
Tata said an emergency center had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.
The tragedy of the Air India crash still leaves various questions unanswered, but what the pilot reportedly said before the disaster has been revealed.
An Air India flight cr.as.hed just minutes after taking off from India’s Ahmedabad Airport on June 12.
The AI 171 flight was on its way to London Gatwick and was expected to touch down in the UK at 6:25 pm local time.
Yet, the flight would only reach about 625 feet in the air before plummeting to the ground four miles away from the airport runway.
As per the airline, there were 242 passengers and crew members on board. Air India added: “Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”
There was reportedly only one survivor from the plane crash, 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai shared that 265 bodies have so far been recovered – including people who died on the ground – but this number may increase as rescue efforts continue.
The exact cause of the crash is currently being in investigation, and more details are expected to come out over the coming days.
The two pilots flying the plane have been identified as Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder.
According to India’s aviation regulator, the aircraft gave a mayday call to air traffic control. However, there was no response from the plane after that.
The captain reportedly called out on his radio: “Mayday […] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.”
It’s believed that the pair of pilots then attempted to get control of the plane as it sank through the air before crashing into a medical college hostel.
The Chairman of Air India, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, has also released a lengthy statement and offered his condolences, while saying the incident was a ‘tragic acc.ident’.
He said: “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight, AI171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick 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.
“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.
“Further updates will be shared as we receive more verified information. An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families.”