An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers crashed minutes after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport this afternoon. The aircraft operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick airport carrying 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national on board crashed shortly after takeoff.
The airline, in a statement, said flight AI 171, operating from Ahmedabad to London was involved in an incident. The plane crashed into a hostel for doctors of a medical college at 1:30 pm, officials said.
According to officials, the pilot sent a mayday call, and then there was no response after that to repeated calls from the air traffic controller. Visuals from the crash site showed a thick plume of grey smoke rising from the ground. At least two dozen ambulances have arrived, and some have taken the injured people to a nearby 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 action.
