An Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, early Thursday, June 12th, killing more than 200 people and injuring dozens. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, struck a residential hostel near BJ Medical College, causing extensive casualties on the ground as well.
The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad International Airport at approximately 1:38 p.m. local time and lost signal within a minute at an altitude of just 625 feet, according to aviation tracking service Flightradar24.
Authorities confirmed that emergency crews transported the bodies of more than 200 victims to local hospitals after responding to the crash site. The Federation of All India Medical Association reported that the plane crashed into a hostel for doctors, killing at least five medical students and injuring nearly 50 more. Some individuals from the hostel have not yet been located.
Conflicting reports emerged throughout the day regarding the possibility of survivors. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner initially stated there appeared to be no survivors, but Air India CEO Campbell Wilson later confirmed that some injured passengers had been taken to hospitals. Among them is a British national identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was assigned seat 11A. Speaking from a hospital bed, he recalled, “Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
Ramesh was flying with his brother, who was seated in another part of the aircraft. No details have been released about his brother’s condition.
Air India confirmed the passenger manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The airline and its parent company, Tata Group, pledged compensation of 10 million rupees ($116,868) to each family who lost a loved one in the disaster.
Boeing acknowledged the incident and expressed its condolences. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is deploying a team to support India’s investigation, while the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has also offered assistance.
Officials continue to look into what led to the crash.
