AHMEDABAD, India — A packed Air India passenger jet with 244 people on board crashed Thursday in a crowded part of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. Authorities say no one is expected to have survived.
“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik told The Associated Press. He added, “Some locals would have also died,” as the Boeing 787 slammed into the densely populated Meghani Nagar neighborhood, home to offices and apartment buildings.
The flight, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, took off at 1:38 p.m. local time and went down just five minutes later. Thick smoke and flames poured from the wreckage as fire crews fought to contain the blaze. Bodies, burned beyond recognition, were seen lying on the ground near shattered buildings.
The plane was carrying 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian, Air India said. However, officials noted a discrepancy, saying 244 people were listed on the manifest.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the crash “devastating.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was “heartbreaking beyond words,” offering his thoughts to the victims and their families.
This is the first-ever crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing said it was “working to gather more information.” More than 1,000 Dreamliners have been delivered worldwide since the aircraft was introduced in 2009.
“This is an unfolding story, and it will undoubtedly be causing a huge amount of worry and concern,” said British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell. “We send our deepest sympathy and thoughts to all those families.”
Emergency teams rushed to the crash site with medical aid and relief. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said all efforts were being made to support survivors and families, though survival seems unlikely.
Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the airline has launched an emergency support center. “Our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families,” he said. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.”
India has seen deadly air disasters before, including the 2020 crash in Kozhikode that killed 21, and the worst in 1996 when 349 died in a mid-air collision near Delhi.
This tragedy strikes just days before the Paris Air Show, a key event for the global aviation industry, and adds to the ongoing turbulence Boeing has faced since the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.
There is no word yet on what caused Thursday’s crash. Investigators are expected to begin examining the wreckage once the fires are fully contained.
ABC News has more on the story in the report below:
Here’s another report from CBS News:
