A passenger plane from Ahmedabad, India, to London, crashed, with 242 people on board, 169 Indians and 53 British nationals.

Abrar Ahmed Daily Dawn + Dawn TV Report

Ahmedabad: An Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Thursday.

Director General of the Directorate of Civil Aviation, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, told the Associated Press (AP) that Air India Flight AI 171 crashed in a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 pm local time.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 passengers.

The plane that crashed included former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, 169 Indians, 53 Britons, a Canadian and 7 Portuguese nationals, as well as 11 children.

An Air India passenger plane has crashed near Ahmedabad airport.
According to the Reuters news agency, Indian news channels reported on Thursday that a passenger plane had crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad, but there were no reports of casualties.

Air India said in a statement posted on X that the passenger plane was flying from Ahmedabad to London, while police said the plane crashed into a civilian population.
The passenger plane was carrying 242 people, including crew members.
In videos posted on social media, clouds of smoke are seen rising from the crash site, but these video footage are yet to be verified.
In a video shown on a news channel, the plane is seen flying over a residential area and then suddenly disappears from view, after which thick clouds of smoke are seen rising into the sky.
According to Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control, the passenger plane took off at 1:39 pm local time and immediately after that an emergency ‘Mayday’ call was received, after which contact with it was lost.
The Flight Radar 24 website also said that the plane’s signals stopped coming a few seconds after taking off.
According to the website, the crashed plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing did not immediately respond to contact.
According to television channels, the accident occurred when the plane was taking off. Scenes of the wreckage catching fire near the airport have been seen.