Air India flight carrying 242 people to London crashes

Air India has confirmed 242 people were on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft including 53 British nationals.

Police have said they do not expect there to be any survivors, with more deaths expected on the ground after the jet crashed into a hostel housing medical staff.

The crash is one of the worst aviation disasters in India’s history and emergency services are still at the scene.

Here’s what you need to know.

• Air India flight 171 crashed into a medical college in Meghani shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.17pm local time.
• The airline has confirmed the plane was carrying 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members and added 53 of those on board are British nationals.
• Video appears to show the plane struggling to achieve lift before crashing to the ground with the pilot reportedly issuing a Mayday call shortly after taking off
• According to preliminary information, the plane reached approximately 825 feet when it suddenly descended
• A police chief in Ahmedabad said it appears there are no survivors in the crash
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy is ‘heartbreaking beyond words’ while Sir Keir Starmer and King Charles are receiving regular updates

Horror as Gatwick-bound Air India jet with 242 on board including 53 Brits crashes just seconds after take-off – with flaming debris and billowing smoke seen near Ahmedabad Airport

An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick carrying 244 passengers and crew including 53 Britons suffered a fiery crash shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat.

Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, careened back to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1:38pm local time (09:08 BST).

Emergency services are working fervently to locate survivors, but the scale of the damage displayed in early images suggests there are significant casualties.

Dark images showed the charred remains of bodies littering the site, while other pictures shared to social media revealed chunks of the plane’s fuselage and tail protruding from a demolished building.

Several people, including medical students, were killed when parts of the jet smashed into accommodation for doctors practising at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.

Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside.

‘The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel… we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,’ a senior police officer told reporters at the scene.

India’s Health Ministry confirmed that ‘many were killed’, but did not provide further details. As of 11:30am UK time, at least 30 bodies have been recovered from buildings damaged in the crash, rescue personnel said.

Firefighters doused the smouldering piles of debris with their hoses as photos and videos taken by horrified residents in Meghani showed plumes of thick black smoke emanating from the crash site.

The cause of the tragedy is not yet known, but footage appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.

It momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon. The jet was fuelled for a long-haul flight direct to Gatwick, intensifying the blast.

The flight reportedly reached an altitude of just 625 feet before it began to descend, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24, which declared the plane’s transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.

‘We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,’ it said.