Air India flight to London crashes in Ahmedabad with more than 240 onboard

Flight AI171 included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian

Air India has said that the passengers on its flight AI171 included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

In a statement on X, Air India said:

Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take off.

The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.

The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information.

Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.

India’s minister for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said there have been reports of 105 casualties after the crash of a Gatwick-bound plane which departed from Ahmedabad airport.

According to the PA news agency, Mohol said in a statement translated on Sky News:

We have heard there is 105 casualties.

We have not given a statement about it … the first of all the priorities is that we have to save as many people as possible.

He also said:

There is a recovery plan going on at the site. I cannot comment on all this and I think it will take some time.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) are reporting that the Ahmedabad police commissioner has said that there “appears to be no survivors” from the Air India plane crash.

The police chief added that there are casualties on the ground where the aircraft crashed.

What we know so far

Here is what we know so far on the breaking news story of the Air India flight AI171 crash:

• An Air India passenger plane bound for Gatwick airport with more than 240 people on board has crashed shortly after take off from the north-western Indian city of Ahmedabad.

• Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 (also known as a Dreamliner), came down in the residential area of Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told the Associated Press. Footage from the near the scene showed smoke billowing from the crash site.

• According to reports in the Indian media the plane crashed into a building comprising accommodation for doctors working in local hospitals. The plane issued a mayday call to air traffic control after take off. According to the Flightradar24 website, signal was lost seconds after take off when the plane had reached a height of 625ft.

• Air India said 242 people were on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Among those were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese people and one Canadian, according to the airline. Kidwai said 244 people were onboard – it has not been possible to reconcile the discrepancy.

• There has been no official word on casualties from the Indian authorities. Rescue personnel at the site, however, told Reuters at least 30 bodies had been recovered from a building where the plane came down.

• There is no information yet on possible causes, though in aviation, crashes are statistically most likely during landing or take off. An aviation safety expert told the BBC that weather conditions had been stable and clear at the time.

This map shows the path of the Air India flight AI171:

Amy Leversidge, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa), said:

Pilots around the globe are deeply saddened by this news. Members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association send condolences to all those affected.

It is vital a full and thorough investigation is now carried out without interference or unhelpful speculation about the contributory factors so that future tragedies can be avoided.

Here are a few images coming in via the newswires:

Here is a map from our graphics team showing where the Air India flight AI171 crashed in Ahmedabad:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has stood up a crisis team in India and the UK, David Lammy has said.

The UK foreign secretary told the House of Commons:

My thoughts and I’m sure those of the entire house are with those who’ve been affected by the tragic plane crash in India this morning.

We know that British nationals were on board and I can confirm that the FCDO is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London.