Air India Flight To London Crashes Moments After Take-Off In Ahmedabad
Visuals from the site show a thick plume of grey smoke rising from the ground. At least two dozen ambulances have arrived and some have taken away injured people to hospital
An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people crashed immediately after take-off from Ahmedabad airport this afternoon, in one of the worst ever aviation tragedies in India. There were 232 passengers and 10 crew on the flight which was headed to London.
A video of the aircraft flying low and struggling to gain altitude shows the plane slamming the ground and exploding in a massive ball of fire at 1.38 pm. It was loaded with fuel since it was flying a long distance to London.
Shortly after take-off, the pilot sent out a mayday call. There was no response after that to repeated calls from the air traffic controller, say reports.
In the final moments, the catastrophic failure to achieve lift happened at a very low altitude of 825 feet. The aircraft was clearly unable to climb, aviation expert Sanjay Lazar told the leading news channel.
The police have diverted traffic from the area.
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Air India has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 for information regarding the same.
Flight No. AI 171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, had on board 169 Indians, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals.
Visuals showed charred wreckage of the plane, thick smoke rising from the site and emergency personnel at work. Some videos also showed injured taken to hospitals.
At least two dozen ambulances arrived at the site and some have taken away injured people to hospital. The police have diverted traffic from the area.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he is personally monitoring the situation and directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.
“My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families,” he said in a post on X.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement said the aircraft piloted by captain Sumeet Sabharwal with 8,200 hours of experience and first officer Clive Kundar with 1,100 hours of experience made a mayday call just before the crash.
Air India has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information.
