LONDON − A London-bound Air India passenger plane with more than 200 people on board crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in India’s western city of Ahmedabad, the airline and police officials said June 12.
City police chief G.S. Malik told Reuters that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. The BBC reported that at least one passenger, a British national identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh on the flight manifest, survived the crash and was undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
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.
Authorities have yet to release any information about what may have caused the crash.
The plane was headed to London’s Gatwick airport, Air India said. A police statement said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport. Early reports suggested the plane may have come down on a hostel housing doctors. “We are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said in a statement.
Air India plane crash: What we know so far about passengers, where they were going
According to local media, the crash occurred as the aircraft was taking off from Ahmedabad airport, which is about 600 miles southwest of India’s capital, New Delhi. TV visuals showed people being moved in stretchers and taken away in ambulances. Thick black smoke rose into the sky near the airport.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft was carrying 242 passengers and crew members. Air India said of these, 169 were Indian nationals; 53 were British; 7 were Portuguese; and one was Canadian.
No Americans were reported on board.
“I was in my office when the plane crashed and there was a loud thud,” Darshna Vaghela, a local politician, told reporters at the scene, according to the BBC. “We rescued many doctors from their flats.”
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Air India plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashes
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “stunned and saddened” by the crash. Britain’s King Charles and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer released statements saying they were being updated.
Air India flight 171 was operated by an 11.5-year-old Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, according to airfleets.net, an industry website. The plane had been in Air India’s fleet since it left the production line.
The flight was helmed by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who reportedly had over 8,000 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot had over 1,100 hours logged flying time, according to CNN.
This is the first-ever hull loss involving a Boeing 787 since its entry into service in 2011.
Boeing posted a statement on X, saying: “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.”
Flightradar24 data shows the aircraft, identified as VT-ANB, had flown from New Delhi to Ahmedabad earlier in the day. The plane last sent a signal to airport authorities when it was at 625 feet in the air.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Air India plane crashes at India’s Ahmedabad airport
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