AHMEDABAD, India — 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 airline and police said, and India’s federal health minister said that “many people” were killed.
The plane was headed to Britain’s Gatwick airport, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
“The building on which it has crashed is a doctor’s hostel… we have cleared almost 70 percent to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters.
There were at least 11 children among the 242 people on board, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.
“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X. “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”
Gatwick posted on X that it could confirm the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6:25 p.m. in London, had crashed on departure.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said he was deeply saddened by the news 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.”
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 jet of fire rose into the sky from beyond the houses.
Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than 5 million.
They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. He said 244 people were on board and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy with Air India’s numbers.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 p.m. from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signaling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site.
“We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation,” he said.
Boeing said it is aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 6.8% to $199.13 in pre-market trade.
The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.
Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment “our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.”
He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.