Air India Boeing plane carrying more than 200 people crashes minutes after taking off
By Patrick Reilly
A London-bound Boeing passenger plane with 242 people onboard crashed into a residential area in India just after taking off Thursday, with horrifying videos showing it bursting into a massive fireball.
Air India Flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad — a city of about 5 million people — roughly five minutes after taking off for London Gatwick, according to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, India’s director general of the directorate of civil aviation.
Wild videos show the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner descending over the busy city then bursting into a massive fireball, with thick black smoke soon consuming the skyline.
Firefighters at the site of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India.
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Over 200 people were on board but the airline did not share if there were any fatalities.
AP
Large plume of black smoke rising above buildings near an ambulance.
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An Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.
@Madrassan_Pinky/X
Aftermath of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, showing firefighters and debris.
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Firefighters work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad.
AP
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The 242 onboard included 169 Indian nationals, as well as 53 from the UK, seven from Portugal and one from Canada, the airline said.
Flightradar24 playback of Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London.
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Flight radar of the jet before it crashed.
@flightradar24/X
It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were, both from the jet and the congested residential area where it crashed.
People watching smoke from a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India.
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People watch smoke rising after an airplane crashed in Ahmedabad.
AP
However, the airline suggested there were survivors, saying: “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”
Video on local channels showed thick, black columns of smoke billowing from the crash site near the airport in the northwestern Indian city.
Large plume of black smoke rising above a building.
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Thick black smoke billowed from the crash site.
@ChaudharyParvez/X
“Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” said India’s aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, according to the BBC.
Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said the airline is working on assisting first responders.
Air India statement on flight AI171 accident.
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Air India releases a statement on the accident.
@airindia/X
“At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families,” she said.
“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.
Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, India.
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Firefighters are seen putting out flames after the plane crash.
Agenda-Free TV/YouTube
All flights were suspended by the Ahmedabad airport.
Crowd gathered near trees.
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Onlookers watch first responders on the scene of the plane crash.
Mohan Nakum / Sky News
Gatwick airport confirmed the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6:25 p.m. in London, had crashed on departure.
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