- More than 260 people were killed when an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff.
- The plane crashed into a medical college, killing five students and injuring 50 more.
- The cause of the crash is currently unknown.
An Air India flight on its way to London crashed into a medical college and other buildings shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing more than 260 people.
The flight was departing from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday on its way to the London Gatwick Airport carrying 242 passengers and crew members.
India’s home minister, Amit Shah told reporters that there is at least one survivor, The New York Times reported. Shah said he met with the survivor.
This lone survivor has not been officially identified yet. Some news outlet in the U.K. are identifying him as Viswashkumar Ramesh, but that has not yet been confirmed, per The New York Times.
The most recent death toll numbers comes from an Ahmedabad police official, who said that so far 269 bodies had been brought to the hospital in the city.
An exact number won’t be available until after DNA testing.
On board the plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, the airline reported, per The Associated Press.
The number of dead includes students and others who were inside the medical college when the plane crashed. There were also a number of students injured.
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” city police chief G.S. Malik told the AP.
Boeing told the AP that it was aware of the crash and was “working to gather more information.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X on Thursday sharing his condolences for those affected by the crash.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also posted on X, sharing a similar sentiment.
President Donald Trump also spoke on the crash from the White House on Thursday afternoon.
He referred to the crash as “terrible” and “horrific” during a news conference.
“I let them know that anything we can do, we’ll be over there immediately,” the president said.
What happened?
The New York Times reported that the plane departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 p.m. The airport was temporarily shut down after the crash.
The flight was scheduled to land at Gatwick at 6:25 p.m.
Just moments after take off the plane crashed into Ahmedabad’s B.J. Medical College causing an explosion, per The Washington Post.
Videos captured by nearby onlookers posted on social media show the plane crash and the aftermath. The videos show the plane descending over a cluster of buildings before crashing.
What caused the crash?
It is unclear what caused the plane to crash, but investigators from the U.K. and the United States National Transportation Safety Board will be working with Indian authorities to determine what happened.
According to The New York Times, the investigation to determine the cause of the crash could take months or years to complete. This type of plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has been under scrutiny for years, but this is the first time it’s been involved in a fatal crash.
Previous Air India crashes
In India, civilian plane crashes are rare, but this is not Air India’s first deadly crash.
In 2020, a plane carrying around 200 people skidded off the runway in heavy rain and broke into pieces, per The Washington Post. Seventeen people were killed in the incident. The flight was through Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India.
One hundred and fifty-eight people were killed in a 2010 Air India express flight and in 1978, 213 died when an Air India flight crashed.
Air India used to be India’s national carrier but in 2022, the airline was acquired by the Tata Group after incurring heavy losses and debt, according to The Washington Post.