More than 240 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London crashed just minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, officials said, making it the world's worst air disaster in a decade.
Only one passenger survived the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people en route to Gatwick Airport when it crashed into a medical college halls of residence during the lunch break.
The sole survivor was a British man of Indian origin who is currently receiving treatment in hospital, the airline confirmed. The man told Indian reporters he heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off.
“We are still confirming the number of casualties, including those who were in the building where the plane crashed,” Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer, told Reuters.
She said the death toll had risen to more than 240, adjusting an earlier figure of 294 because it included some body parts that were counted twice. It was unclear how many victims were on the plane or on the ground.
The only surviving passenger was in seat 11A, near the emergency exit, Chaudhary said, adding that there could be other survivors at the hospital.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” Ramesh Vishwashkumar, 40, told Hindustan Times, which also published a boarding pass in Ramesh's name with seat 11A online.
“It all happened too fast,” he told the newspaper from his hospital bed.
“When I stood up, there were bodies all around me. I was in a panic. I jumped up and ran. There was debris all around me,” he recalled. “Someone grabbed me, put me in an ambulance and took me to the hospital.”
He said his brother Ajay was sitting in a different row on the plane. “He was flying with me and I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he pleaded for help.
Rescuers work at the crash site of Air India Flight 171 in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (Photo by Sam Panthaki/AFP)
The plane crashed into a residential area, including a medical college dormitory on the outskirts of the airport, in the middle of the lunch hour, making it the world's worst air disaster in a decade. More than 290 people, including passengers on the plane and people on the ground, were killed in the incident.
Press briefing
The plane, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad at around 9am ET.
An Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “We have lost a lot of lives.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
