- 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
- The plane was en route to Gatwick airport in the UK
- The 242 people included 217 adults and 11 children, a source told Reuters news agency. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 43 were British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
- Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
The BBC is reporting that between 50 to 60 students studying medicine at the India’s Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) were taken to hospital after the Air India flight crashed into a doctors’ hostel.
The association says five students are missing, and at least two are in the intensive care unit.
Relatives of some doctors are also missing. According to FAIMA, most of the passengers on the flight were brought to hospital dead.
King Charles III said in a written message: “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.
“I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heart-breaking and traumatic time.”
No Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft had crashed until the Ahmedabad incident.
The aircraft type, which entered service in 2011, is described by the US manufacturer as “the bestselling passenger widebody of all time” with more than 2,000 orders from 89 customers.
The planes have carried more than one billion passengers on nearly five million flights.
The jet is flown by a number of other airlines serving the UK, such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Tui Airways.
It increases fuel efficiency by up to 25% compared with the planes it replaces, largely because of modern engines, using lightweight materials and improved aerodynamics.
Recent concerns over the safety of Boeing aircraft have generally related to its 737 Max aircraft.
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire while parked at Heathrow airport with no passengers onboard in 2013.
An investigation found the fire was probably caused by a short circuit.
India is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for passenger flights.
The country has witnessed a number of deadly crashes.
Pilot error was blamed for a crash involving an Air India Express plane carrying 190 people in the southern state of Kerala in August 2020.
Twenty-one people were killed.
In May 2010, some 158 people died when an Air India plane flying from Dubai overshot the runway and crashed into a gorge while attempting to land in the southern city of Mangaluru. – PA Media
British foreign minister David Lammy said he was deeply saddened by news of a plane crash in India, and that Britain was now working with Indian authorities.
“Deeply saddened by news of a devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad, India,” Lammy said on X. “My thoughts are with all those affected. The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support.”
Speaking in parliament later on, Lammy said Britain had activated a crisis team in both India’s capital, New Delhi, and in London.
Shares in Boeing tumbled in pre-market trading on Thursday after one of its planes crashed shortly after taking off in India.
The US-based airplane manufacturer, which has been blighted by safety issues in recent years, saw shares drop as much as 8 per cent.
Airline Air India said 169 passengers are Indian nationals, 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portuguese.
A Boeing spokesman said: “We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information.”
It is the first crash involving a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
However, the fleet was reportedly grounded in 2013 after fires related to lithium-ion batteries in its electrical power system.
The plane was en route 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 news agency. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 43 were British, 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 people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm local time from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
“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. – Reuters