Reporting from Horley, England
At the international arrivals section of London Gatwick’s south terminal, there were no immediate signs of the crash.
This is where Air India Flight 171 was scheduled to land early Thursday evening local time.
Passengers continued to stream through the arrivals gate, some of them overheard discussing the events thousands of miles away.
A London-bound Air India flight with over 200 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff. NBC News’ Daniele Hamamdjian reports on what we know about the passengers.
Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, speaking at a press briefing earlier today, said that the Air India air crash was “an evolving situation” and that rescue operations were ongoing.
“What has happened in Ahmedabad is a very tragic accident. We have lost a lot of people,” Jaiswal told reporters.
He added that further updates on the status of foreigners would come in due time from the relevant organizations, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India and others.
“Everybody is concerned, and we once again convey our deepest condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones,” he added.
Video shows the moment that Air India Flight 171 crashed near a major international airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had over 200 people onboard, including 12 crew members, and was headed to London’s Gatwick Airport.
“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” G.S. Malik, police commissioner for Ahmedabad told The Associated Press, adding that “some locals would have also died” when the plane crashed into a residential area where offices were also located.
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said.
The flight crashed midday local time shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport with 242 people on board.
Plane crashes are not common in India, which boasts some of the world’s strictest air standards after being rattled by a series of bombings and hijackings from the 1970s to 1990s.
In October, the Indian government vowed to punish those responsible for flight disruptions after more than 90 flights from Indian airports received bomb threats in just over a week. They were primarily directed at Indian airlines, but they also affected international airlines.
“Safety and security is the foremost aspect,” the Indian aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, told reporters at the time.
Today’s crash comes after Air India, once state-owned, came under the control of the Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022. Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in a post on X that an emergency center has been activated for family members seeking information.
India has suffered more than 50 major air disasters since its independence, including a 1996 mid-air collision in Delhi between a Saudi Boeing 747 en route to Saudi Arabia and a Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 arriving from Kazakhstan. It is considered the worst air crash in India to date, killing 349 people.
More than 100 bodies have been brought to a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad, local police told Reuters. That came after rescuers earlier said that they had recovered between 30 and 35 bodies from the site.
The British foreign office has scrambled crisis teams in London and Delhi to support British nationals affected by the crash of Air India Flight AI171 British foreign minister David Lammy.
“My thoughts and I’m sure those of the entire house are with those who’ve been affected by the tragic plane crash in India this morning,” Lammy said as he began an address to British parliament Thursday morning.
“We know that British nationals were on board and I can confirm that the FCDO [foreign office] is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families,” he added.
Air India flight 171 from Ahmedabad, India, to London Gatwick Airport crashed moments after takeoff. The airline says 242 people were onboard, including two pilots and 10 crew members. This is the first crash for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. NBC’s Tom Costello reports for TODAY.
Shares of Boeing fell more than 8% in premarket trading today after Flight AI171 — a Boeing 787 — crashed in the latest such accident involving one of the aerospace giant’s aircraft.
“We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information,” Boeing said in a statement.
Boeing’s safety record has faced scrutiny following two fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 that led to more than 340 deaths.
The Air India flight crashed in a low-rise residential complex south of the Ahmedabad airport, according to pictures shared on X by India’s central police force.
Indian media identified it as a medical school’s residential complex.
In an image that the Indian Central Industrial Security Force posted on X, the tail of Air India Flight AI171, which is missing most of a wing, can be seen protruding from a destroyed building at the crash site. Other images showed rescuers standing next to charred wreckage and a downed tree near a residential complex.
The security force said it was carrying out rescue operations alongside local authorities and emergency services.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that the plane crash in Ahmedabad is “heartbreaking beyond words.”
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Modi said in a post on X. “In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”
Modi said he has been in touch with officials who are working to assist those affected.
Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called “the scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.”
In a statement he added that he was being kept updated about the situation as it develops.
India’s Ahmedabad Airport has temporarily suspended all flight operations after the crash.
“Passengers are advised to check with their respective airlines for the latest updates before proceeding to the airport,” the airport said in a post on X.
Ahmedabad Airport, one of the busiest in India, handled a total of over 11 million passengers in the financial year of 2024, according to Statista.
Hospitals in the areas around the Ahmedabad airport have been put on “high alert” following the crash that happened shortly after take-off, state home minister Harsh Sanghavi said.
Rescue teams were also dispatched to the site of the crash, he said in a post on X, adding that all ambulances, including at least 108 vehicles, stood ready to respond.
Sanghavi said senior officials had also been deployed to hospitals and to the airport to “ensure prompt action and safe lives.”
India’s civil aviation minister has offered his thoughts and prayers to those on board flight AI171 and their families.
“Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad,” Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a post on X, adding that he was “personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.”
“Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” he added. “My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
At least 169 Indian nationals were among the 242 people on board Flight AI171 when it crashed, Air India has said.
There were also at least 53 British citizens on the flight, which was headed to the London Gatwick Airport, just outside Britain’s capital.
At least seven of those on board were Portuguese nationals, along with one Canadian citizen.
Air India said the injured were being taken to the nearest hospitals and that the airline was fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation the incident.
An Air India plane with 242 people on board crashed Thursday near a major international airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, the airline and the country’s government said.
Air India, the country’s flagship carrier, said in a post on X that Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick had been “involved in an incident” and that it was “ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”
The flight was scheduled to depart at 1:10 p.m. local time (3:40 a.m. ET). Reuters reported that 242 people were on board and cited police in adding that the plane crashed into a civilian area.
“Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad,” said Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s civil aviation minister said in a post on X. “I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.”
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