AHMEDABAD – One person survived, but more than 200 people died when an Air India plane crashed just minutes after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday. The plane was flying to London and had 242 people on board.
The Air India plane crashed in a residential area near the airport, hitting a medical college hostel during lunch hour. The flight was on its way to Gatwick Airport near London.
According to media reports, that the plane had crashed into a doctors’ hostel, and about 70 to 80 percent of the area had been cleared. The remaining portion would be cleared soon, he added.
Earlier, Air India confirmed that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident after take-off. The flight, which departed at 1:38pm local time, was operating with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft and was carrying 242 passengers and crew members.
According to Air India, 169 of the people on board were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, and 1 Canadian national.
Police said the plane crashed into a doctors’ hostel building near the airport. “We have cleared about 70% to 80% of the site,” a senior police officer told reporters.
Television footage showed the plane catching fire moments after takeoff, with a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky. Burning debris was seen near the crash site as emergency teams rushed in.
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People were shown being carried on stretchers and moved into ambulances. Air India confirmed that the injured were being taken to the nearest hospitals.
In a statement on social media platform X, Air India said:
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest on airindia.com and on our X handle.”
The airline also said: “Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.” A dedicated passenger hotline has been set up for families and relatives of those on board: 1800 5691 444.
Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.
The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are…
— Air India (@airindia) June 12, 2025
The aircraft sent a “Mayday” emergency signal shortly after takeoff and then lost contact with air traffic control. Flightradar24, an aviation tracking site, confirmed that it received the last signal from the aircraft just seconds after departure.
Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer, said it was aware of the incident and is collecting more information. Boeing shares dropped nearly 7.8% in premarket U.S. trading after the crash.
This is the first major Air India crash since 2020, when an Air India Express flight overshot the runway in Kozhikode, killing 21 people. The cause of Thursday’s crash is still under investigation.
