An Air India Boeing 787-8 has crashed during takeoff

©  social media

An Air India flight carrying 242 passengers from Ahmedabad to London crashed minutes after takeoff on Thursday. The plane went down in a residential area minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Gujarat. Videos of the crash circulating on social media show plumes of dark smoke rising into the sky. 

Firefighters have arrived at the scene, and emergency teams are being deployed. The authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the crash.

As rescue operations continue, one survivor has been identified. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik informed the media that the passenger in seat 11A “has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.” Local media reports indicate that 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, was rescued by locals. He is believed to have jumped off the plane before it made contact with the building. 

According to Air India, among the 242 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 were British nationals, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian. The Ahmedabad police have so far confirmed the death of 204 people in the crash. 

Police have also released a list of 25 individuals who were injured on the ground at the crash site. Local media, citing the Indian Medical Association, reported that three medical students perished while others have been hospitalized. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered rescue and relief operations. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and Home Minister Amit Shah have arrived in Ahmedabad to assess the situation.

12 June 2025

18:38 GMT

Bhoomi Chauhan, a woman who was supposed to be on Air India Flight AI171, told the media outlet Republic that she missed the plane by a mere ten minutes because of heavy traffic on the way to the airport. She attributed her delay to divine intervention. “My Ganpati Bappa saved me,” she said referring to the Hindu god Ganesha.

The would-be passenger said she was “completely devastated” and “literally shivering” after learning about the tragedy.

“My mind is totally blank now after hearing all that has happened,” Chauhan told reporters.

She added that she had been on vacation in India and was about to return to her husband in London.

17:32 GMT

Speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, India’s minister of Home affairs, Amit Shah, said that 230 passengers and 12 crew members were aboard the London-bound Air India flight. The minister confirmed that at least one passenger has survived – despite the chances being minimal as the plane's fuel tanks were full at the time of the accident.

“The retrieval of the dead bodies is almost complete. DNA samples of the family members are being collected. The family members in foreign countries are also being informed. The DNA samples of the dead bodies have also been collected,” Shah stated.

The minister noted that the final death toll will be made public once DNA verification has been completed.

Shah pointed out that the federal government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was notified of the tragedy within ten minutes of it happening. Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu ordered a swift investigation.

 

16:59 GMT

Another video, apparently from a CCTV camera, has been making the rounds on social media, presumably showing the ill-fated plane on the runway just moments before the deadly crash. In it, the Air India Boeing 787-8 seems to struggle to ascend for some time before going down and exploding in a fireball.

 

 

©  Social media

 

15:19 GMT

Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson has expressed “deep sorrow” over the airline’s Boeing 787-8 that crashed on Thursday with 242 people on board minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport. 

The airline is actively working with the authorities on emergency response efforts, the CEO said in a video statement.

“This is a difficult day for all of us here in India. And it’s now focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families, and loved ones,” Wilson said. “I know that there are many questions and at this stage I won’t be able to answer all of it.” 

He added that the investigation will take time, but “anything we can do now we are doing.”

 

14:58 GMT

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reacted to the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad, India. In a post on X, he wrote: “My prayers are with all who lost their loved ones in this horrible incident.”

Rubio added that Washington stands “with the emergency responders working to help those impacted.”

 

 

14:27 GMT

Speaking to RT, Jean-Francois Geneste, the CEO of WARPA and the former chief scientist of Airbus Group, suggested that the ill-fated Air India aircraft likely encountered engine problems – judging by the abnormally low noise heard in the run-up to the crash in multiple eyewitness videos circulating on the internet.

While the plane appears to have lacked the necessary “propulsive power” for a successful takeoff, the engines “didn’t stall” completely, the expert said. He concluded, however, that it is impossible to ascertain what exactly caused the apparent malfunction of the plane’s engines at this point.

 

 

 

14:20 GMT

The Indian Army has released photos showing the rescue operation at the site of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad.

 

 

 

14:18 GMT

At least one passenger survived the Air India crash, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik has said, as quoted by the ANI news agency.

“The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment. [I] cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area,” Malik stated.

The Ahmedabad police have so far confirmed the death of 204 in the crash.

Police have also released a list of 25 people who were injured on the ground at the site of the crash. Local media reported, citing the Indian Medical Association, that three medical students perished while others have been hospitalized.

 

 

 

13:40 GMT

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his condolences over the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash in Gujarat. In a post on X he said, “Devastated to learn of the crash of a London-bound Air India plane in Ahmedabad, carrying 242 passengers — including one Canadian. My thoughts are with the loved ones of everyone on board.”

 

12:34 GMT

India’s minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol, addressing the press conference after the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171 with a total of 242 people on board, said the government could not yet confirm the exact number of casualties.  

“Air India’s flight AI171 crashed this afternoon with a total of 242 people on board. Rescue operations are currently underway. We have held an emergency meeting. It will take some time before we can confirm the exact number of casualties.” 

Over 100 bodies have been brought to one hospital in Ahmedabad, Reuters reported.

More