AHMEDABAD: In one of the deadliest aviation disasters in a decade, an Air India flight carrying 242 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing more than 200 people.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down minutes after departure, crashing into a residential area and striking a doctors’ hostel at B.J. Medical College during lunchtime. The aircraft was en route to Gatwick Airport near London.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik confirmed that 204 bodies had been recovered so far, though he noted the toll may include victims on the ground. Authorities have not reported any survivors, and The Indian Express, citing police sources, said all 242 people on board were feared dead.
According to state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi, family members have been asked to provide DNA samples to aid in identifying the deceased. “The building it crashed into is a hostel for medical staff. We’ve cleared about 70–80% of the area,” a senior officer said.
Photos and videos from the crash site show extensive wreckage strewn around the hostel, with the plane’s tail lodged on the rooftop. Parts of the aircraft were engulfed in flames, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky.
Local news channel CNN-News18 reported that the aircraft struck the dining area of the hostel, killing several medical students. The passenger list included 217 adults, 11 children, and 2 infants. Air India said the victims included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, and one Canadian.
This is the first-ever crash involving the Dreamliner model, which entered commercial service in 2011. The crashed plane was first flown in 2013 and delivered to Air India in January 2014, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Air India acknowledged the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “We are currently verifying the details and will provide further updates as they become available.”
Television footage showed the plane lifting off over a residential neighborhood before it vanished from view, followed by a sudden explosion and a large fireball.
Emergency teams rushed to the site, where flames and smoke engulfed the crash zone. Videos showed rescue workers transporting victims on stretchers and ambulances arriving at the scene.
Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told ANI: “My sister-in-law was flying to London. Within an hour, we heard the plane had crashed.”
Ramila, whose son studies at the medical college, said he was in the hostel during his lunch break when the crash happened. “My son is safe. He jumped from the second floor and got injured, but he survived,” she said.
(With inputs from Reuters, ANI, The Indian Express)
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