An Air India aircraft with 242 individuals on board met with an accident close to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
In a statement shared on social media platform X, the airline confirmed, “Air India flight AI171, en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an incident shortly after departure.”
The Boeing 787-8 jet was transporting 242 passengers and crew members at the time of the crash. The airline reported that those injured were being rushed to nearby medical facilities but did not disclose the exact number of casualties.
According to Air India, the passenger manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese travelers, and one Canadian. The remaining 12 individuals’ nationalities were not immediately confirmed.
Citing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), The Times of India reported that the flight had 230 passengers, two pilots, and ten cabin crew members on board.
The airline assured full cooperation with investigative agencies probing the crash and set up a dedicated helpline (1800 5691 444) for concerned families seeking updates.
Disturbing footage from the scene showed flaming wreckage and plumes of thick black smoke near the airport. News broadcasts also captured images of injured passengers being carried on stretchers and loaded into ambulances.
London’s Gatwick Airport acknowledged that the ill-fated Air India flight was scheduled to arrive later that day. Officials stated on X that further details would be released as they became available.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 noted that the aircraft’s signal vanished less than a minute after takeoff from Ahmedabad at 1:38 PM (1:18 PM PKT).
This tragedy follows previous Air India accidents, including a 2020 crash in Kerala’s Kozhikode, where 21 people died, and a 2010 disaster in Mangalore that claimed 159 lives. One of India’s deadliest aviation incidents occurred in 1996 when two planes collided mid-air near Delhi, killing all 349 passengers and crew.