Air India Plane Crashes After Take Off In Ahmedabad; Over 260 Killed

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News

LONDON/AHMEDABAD (Worthy News) – An Air India plane bound for London crashed Thursday shortly after takeoff from India’s western city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board and dozens on the ground in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade, officials confirmed.

Air India said the passengers reportedly included 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian.

However, police later said that one survivor had been found on the flight, without elaborating.

The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour, where there were victims reported as well.

Authorities said Air India Flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick had ended.

Thursday’s crash was the first for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, according to an aviation-safety database.

There was no immediate explanation for the disaster. Worthy News reviewed footage showing a giant fireball after the plane came down near the airport.

Soon, thick black smoke could be seen around the damaged doctors’ hostel, which had been housing up to 60 young medics.

Some people were seen being taken on stretchers to the nearby hospital.

THINGS LOOK BAD

One witness said, “Things look bad,” while sharing photos on the social media platform X of what appeared to be a hostel mess. “Visuals from inside the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College mess. Things look bad. Young doctors were supposed to be in the dining halls,” the X user wrote, referring to lunchtime.

Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the building into which it crashed, photographs and videos from the area showed. The aircraft’s tail was stuck on top of the building, Worthy News monitored.

On the ground, bulldozers were seen being used to clear out debris.

Local police, soldiers, firefighters, and other rescue workers were involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

Social media visuals showed fire hoses extinguishing the flames, and fire engines lining up in the residential area.

It enabled first responders to carry out what appeared to be dead bodies from the site. At least one body seemed to be burned beyond recognition, Worthy News witnessed.

Hundreds of troops deployed at the nearby Ahmedabad airport “were also pressed into rescue operations” after the plane crash, Indian media said.

Soon after, a row of ambulances was seen arriving at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

Britain’s King Charles expressed his shock over the disaster, which also killed scores of Britons, and said he was praying for those affected by the tragedy: “My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning,” he wrote on social media.

SPECIAL PRAYERS

“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,” the king added.

Additionally, King Charles said he wanted to “pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.”

The chief of Tata Group, which owns Air India, said the company would provide 10 million rupees ($117,000) to the families of each person who has lost their life and cover the medical expenses of those injured.

Additionally, the company will support rebuilding the B.J. medical hostel, added Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, who made the announcement.

No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured.”

Ahmedabad, where the plane crashed, is the main city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

The city has more than seven million people, is home to a thriving textile industry, and houses an international cricket stadium. Founded in 1411, Ahmedabad is a popular tourist destination with regular international flights.

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