Ahmedabad air horror: At least 265 dead as London-bound AI flight with 242 crashes

At least 265 people, including medical students having lunch in their hostel cafeteria, were killed on Thursday when a London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex in the Meghaninagar area and burst into a ball of fire less than a minute after takeoff.

The dead in the worst air disaster of the country in recent times included several people on the ground. “As many as 265 bodies have reached the city Civil Hospital,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said.

Four MBBS students and a doctor's wife were among those killed, a senior official said. At least 80 medical students were having lunch when the plane crashed around 1.40 pm. The official death toll of the tragedy has not yet been announced.

Aviation experts say this is the one of the worst air crash disasters of the world. The plane developed a snag immediately after it took off. The pilot apparently gave a Mayday call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) but the plane crashed before the ATC could respond. All pre-flight checks were done and no technical faults or irregularities were detected before the flight took off. Of the 242 passengers on board, 169 were Indian citizens, including two pilots and 10 other crew members. The flight had 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese and a Canadian.

The plane came down in a residential area, crashing on to a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for the Gatwick airport, south of the British capital.

Though there were initial reports that all 242 passengers on board the flight had died, one survivor, Viswash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen, walked out of the plane after the crash. He is now at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital receiving primary aid. He, along with his older brother, were going to London. He and his brother could not get a seat together and were hence seated on different rows. Viswash was on seat 11 A. He told this correspondent that all he could see were bodies around him. He is looking for his brother.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also on the flight. He was going to London to meet his daughter. Though the police and official sources had not confirmed his death till late at night, state BJP chief CR Paatil confirmed that he had died in the tragedy. Several BJP leaders have offered condolences to the Rupani family. His wife Anjali, who was in London with their daughter and was going to come back to Gujarat next week, has left London for Ahmedabad. She will land tomorrow noon. The dead included children and infants, sources confirmed.

The Gujarat Government will be handing over the bodies to the families only after three days after the DNA test. State Health Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said all family members had been asked to come for the DNA test.

The plane crash saw students of BJ Medical College, who were dining, in shock. Several sustained burn injuries. Residents of family quarters also reported severe injuries.

Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the building into which it crashed, photographs and videos from the area showed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.

TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of the state-run BJ Medical College hostel, killing medical students as well.

Ironically, the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service in the world. It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, according to Flightradar24.

“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X.

The crash occurred briefly after the takeoff. According to locals’ CCTV footage, the plane plummeted like a stone and dashed into a building. Soon, there was a huge fire. Several students jumped from the second floor and are now recuperating with injuries after the plane crashed and their canteen was damaged.

According to the ATC, the aircraft departed at 1.39 pm from runway 23. It gave a Mayday call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.

Aviation experts are clueless about the reason behind the crash, though an expert said it was unusual that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up. The Ahmedabad airport is notorious for bird-hits but there are questions whether a bird-hit could end in such a massive tragedy.

Boeing shares fell by about 6.8 per cent in pre-market trade following the crash. Several international teams will be in Ahmedabad to analyse the plane crash. Aircraft engine maker GE will also be sending a technical team to India. “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” PM Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.”

British PM Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were “devastating”, and that he was being kept informed as the situation developed.

The government-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara — a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines — in 2024. The Tata Group has announced a Rs 1-crore compensation to next of kin of each deceased in the plane crash.