British and Indian nationals dead after Air India Flight 171 crash near Civil hospital
AHMEDABAD, India — A Gatwick-bound Air India Dreamliner carrying 242 people crashed into a densely populated neighborhood of Ahmedabad on Thursday, erupting in a massive fireball and killing all on board, according to Indian authorities.
Police and emergency responders say there are no survivors. The Boeing 787-8, operating as Air India Flight 171, slammed into a residential area near BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital shortly after takeoff at approximately 1:40 p.m. local time. The crash also killed several people on the ground, including medical students and local residents, as flaming wreckage tore through a doctors’ hostel and surrounding structures.
“This appears to be a total loss,” said G.S. Malik, regional police chief, who confirmed that rescue teams had recovered at least 30 bodies from nearby buildings. “The blast was so intense that parts of the fuselage are embedded deep into residential structures.”
According to reporting from the Daily Mail, the Air India Dreamliner aircraft was seen descending with its nose up and landing gear deployed, before exploding upon impact. Witnesses described scenes of horror, with people leaping from upper floors of buildings to escape the fire.
Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, including 11 children, two of whom were infants. The crew included two pilots and 10 cabin staff. The jet was fully fueled for the long-haul flight to London Gatwick, intensifying the impact and subsequent fire.
Firefighters worked through the day to extinguish the smoldering wreckage, while police sealed off the Meghani neighborhood, where charred bodies and debris littered the streets. Images circulated online showed parts of the Dreamliner’s fuselage and landing gear jutting from collapsed buildings, with remnants of a canteen still visible inside one structure.
Aircraft Failed to Gain Altitude
Initial flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates the plane climbed to just 625 feet before losing altitude. Aviation experts believe the aircraft lost power at the most critical phase of flight, possibly due to bird strikes, thrust failure, or lift disruption. The plane issued a mayday call moments before the crash.
Lt. Col. John Davidson (Ret.), a U.S. Air Force veteran and aviation safety consultant, told the Daily Mail the plane may have experienced a stall or nose-down trajectory, noting that it “never truly became airborne in a meaningful way.”
Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar, a retired pilot, suggested the aircraft was struck by multiple birds during takeoff, a theory echoed by analyst Sanjay Lazar. “If both engines lost power, the jet wouldn’t have made it beyond the six-to-seven-minute window,” Lazar explained.
Authorities have launched a full investigation. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, joined by experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, are en route to the scene. Officials warn that a complete probe could take two or more years.
Leaders React, Families Devastated
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the crash “devastating” and offered condolences to the families of British nationals. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed Britain is working with Indian officials to support affected families and uncover the cause of the crash.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the tragedy “heartbreaking beyond words” and ordered all relevant agencies to support the emergency response. India’s Health Ministry confirmed “many were killed,” though has not released official figures beyond the initial passenger manifest.
Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran released a statement expressing “profound sorrow,” adding that the airline’s top priority is assisting victims’ families and coordinating with investigators.
Thursday’s disaster marks the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft involved was 11 years old and captained by Summeet Sabharwal, a veteran pilot with over 8,200 flight hours. His first officer, Clive Kundar, had more than 1,100 hours.
The incident is the deadliest aviation disaster in India since 2020, when an Air India Express flight overshot a runway in Kozhikode, killing 21 people.
This story includes information originally reported by the Daily Mail (UK).
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