All 242 passengers on board a UK-bound flight from India have died after the plane crashed shortly after take-off.
“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G. S. Malik said.
He added some locals may also have died as the plane crashed into a residential area.
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said.
More than 100 bodies have been brought to a hospital after the Air India plane crashed into a doctors’ hostel in India’s western city of Ahmedabad.
More people were trapped inside, rescue personnel at the site said.
The plane, with more than 240 people on board, reportedly including at least 217 adults and 11 children, was travelling to London’s Gatwick Airport in the UK.
Local police have reported that the flight crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
India’s federal health minister said that “many people” were killed, but is yet to disclose the number of fatalities.
“The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel … we have cleared almost 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the crash was “heartbreaking beyond words”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being kept updated as the situation develops.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the crash “devastating”.
Air India has confirmed that the flight, which departed at around 1.30pm local time, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members.
“Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,” it said on X.
“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”
The Foreign Office of the UK government said it was aware of the plane crash and was working with local authorities in India to “urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved”.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles is being kept updated on the situation, according to the BBC.
Boeing has also released its first statement, saying it is “aware of initial reports” of the incident and is “working to gather more information”.
The crash occurred when the aircraft was taking off, the TV channels reported. Visuals from near to the crash site showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport as well as people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director-general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38pm local time (6:38pm AEST).
Mr Kidwai said there were at least 232 passengers and 12 crew members on board and emergency teams had been activated at the airport in Ahmedabad.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm local time from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
Flightradar24 also said it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.
“The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB,” Flightradar said.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of the Tata Group — which is a majority owner of Air India — said the company’s “primary focus” was supporting the families of victims on board and assisting with the emergency response.
“With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today,” he said in a post on X.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.
“Our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
India’s aviation minster said he was “shocked and devastated” by the accident, saying his “thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families”.
“I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a statement.
The last fatal plane crash in India involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.
The airline’s Boeing-737 overshot a “table-top” runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India in 2020. The plane skidded off the runway, plunged into a valley and crashed nose-first into the ground. Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
