Ahmedabad: A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex here and burst into a ball of fire Thursday moments after takeoff, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country’s worst air disasters.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the dead, according to BJP leader C R Patil. There were also reports of one passenger identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh and seated on 11A of the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) having survived miraculously.
There was no official count of those killed even hours after the twin-engine wide-bodied aircraft crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport perimeter.
As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died.
According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 people on board were two pilots and 10 crew members.
The pilot issued a ‘Mayday’ distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.
The search was also on for the aircraft’s black box — the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder — for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London’s Gatwick airport.
The 11-year-old aircraft could be seen from miles away, losing altitude rapidly and combusting in a fiery blaze that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.
Noting that the aircraft with a full fuel load for a long trip climbed just about 600-800 feet before plummeting to the ground almost immediately, Aviation experts said going by the available visuals lack of thrust in both engines and a bird hit could be among the probable causes. TV footage showed the aircraft making a slow descent shortly after taking off, with its landing gear still extended.
“The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Visuals from the wreckage area showed bodies being pulled out and the injured, many with burns, wheeled into the city civil hospital close by.
Eyewitnesses in Ahmedabad said the blaze was so intense that it led to several multi-storey buildings being burnt, trees singed and cars damaged. One image showed the snout of the plane crashing through the top floor of a building that appeared to be a dining area of the hostel of nurses and doctors.
Elsewhere too, there were scenes of complete devastation with mangled metal of the wreckage, snarls of tangled wire and smoke rising from burning embers.
This is the first crash involving the Boeing Dreamliner, feted for its advanced features. It is also India’s second biggest air disaster since 2020 when an Air India Express flight skidded off a wet runway while landing at Kozhikode in Kerala and split into two. Of the 190 people on board, 21, including two pilots, lost their lives.
Airport operations in Ahmedabad were temporarily suspended and resumed towards the evening.
The shock of the disaster echoed through political corridors in India and abroad with heads of states and others offering their condolences.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
“In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected,” he added.
Britain’s King Charles III said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were “desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning”.
“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,” read his statement issued from Buckingham Palace.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.
The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal has 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the DGCA said in a statement.
Immediately after departure from Runway 23, the aircraft fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter, it said.
“On Jun 12, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB while operating flight AI-171 from (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad,” the statement said.
Several eyewitnesses on the busy, everyday afternoon described the horror of what they had seen.
“The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of civil hospital and BJ Medical college,” Haresh Shah told PTI.
“There are several five floor buildings which are residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff. Many people in those apartments were injured as along with the plane the buildings also caught fire,” he said.
Another said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.
Expressing his profound sorrow, Air India chairperson N Chandrasekaran said an emergency centre has been activated and support teams set up for families seeking information.
Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson also expressed “deep sorrow” at the crash saying this is a “difficult day” for all at the airline.
“The injured passengers have been taken by local authorities to the nearest hospitals. We are actively working with the authorities on all emergency response efforts,” he said in a statement.
DNA tests will be carried out to ascertain the identities of those in the crash, a senior Gujarat health department official said even as he refused to give the death toll. There were reports that over 200 bodies were recovered from the wreckage. The bodies were reported to be charred beyond recognition.
Aircraft maker Boeing said in a statement that it is in contact with Air India and stands ready to offer any support to the Tata-owned airline.
Thursday’s tragedy is the second major air disaster in Gujarat’s principal city.
October 19, 1988, an Indian Airlines plane crashed in its final approach to the Ahmedabad airport, killing 130 people.
PTI
