The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade claimed the lives of more than 200 people Thursday when an Air India plane carrying 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on its way to London, according to authorities.
During lunch, the plane crashed into a medical college dorm outside the airport, causing it to crash in a residential area. Its destination was Gatwick Airport, which is located south of the capital city of Britain. 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, city police chief G.S. Malik told Reuters. According to the Indian Express newspaper, which cited police, all 242 people on board had died, and there were no reports of survivors being located.
According to Malik, both passengers and those killed on the ground may be among the bodies found. State Health Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi stated that relatives had been asked to provide DNA samples to identify the deceased.
"The building on which it has crashed is a doctors' hostel... we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon," a senior police officer told reporters.
Photos and videos taken in the area revealed pieces of the plane's body strewn all over the building where it crashed. The plane's tail was stuck atop the structure. According to a source, the passengers included 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. According to Air India, there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian among them.
The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the newest passenger planes in operation, according to aviation tracking website Flightradar24.
"At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates," Air India said on X.
The crash happened shortly after the plane took off. A huge jet of fire could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses on one channel after the plane had taken off over a residential area and vanished from view. Images also showed burning debris and dense black smoke rising into the sky close to the airport.
Ahmedabad Airport's air traffic control reports that the plane took off from runway 23 at 1:39 p.m. (0809 GMT). It signaled an emergency by sending out a "Mayday" call, but the aircraft did not respond. According to Anthony Brickhouse, a U.S. aerospace safety consultant, one concerning observation from the aircraft's footage was that the landing gear was down during a flight phase when it should have been up.
“If you didn't know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said.
In a statement posted on its website, India's foreign office said that Britain was assisting Indian authorities in establishing the facts of the crash as quickly as possible and in offering assistance to those involved.
"The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. "It is heartbreaking beyond words."
Although the cause of this incident is still unknown, it calls into question India's aviation infrastructure, maintenance procedures, and airlines' capacity to grow safely. If a mechanical issue is found, Boeing may come under increased international scrutiny, particularly given previous incidents involving its aircraft. This incident may lead to a more stringent audit of all airline safety procedures and emergency response capabilities in India.
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tear-jerking incident, absolutely saddened.