One Survivor Found: Air India Flight Bound For London Crashes Minutes After Take-Off With 242 Aboard
One survivor has reportedly been found in the wreckage of an Air India Boeing 787-8 that had been bound for London with 242 people aboard, including 53 citizens of the United Kingdom, which crashed minutes after take-off in Gujarat on Thursday.
A passenger flight from India to Britain crashed on Thursday morning. At the time of publication no death toll or number of injured has been given, but the incident appears to have been very severe, with scattered wreckage spread across damaged and collapsed city buildings.
It is stated the aircraft was fully fuelled for a long-haul journey, which contributed to a large fire at the site of the crash.
Update 1520 BST — One survivor found
Something of a miracle from the crash site in Gujarat today, as Indian police say one survivor of the flight has now been found and taken to hospital. Per The Times of India — the largest-selling English language newspaper in the world — Ahmedabad city police commissioner G.S. Malik told them the inhabitant of 11A was found in their seat. There is no news of a total death toll otherwise, but until now police had been saying they believed everyone aboard, as well as others on the ground, had died.
The plane’s manifest, which was published earlier today (see 1215) lists the occupant of seat 11A as a Mr Ramesh Viswashkumar, travelling on a British passport. India TV News reports he said: “There were bodies all around me, there were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone took hold of me and put me in an ambulance… “it all happened so quickly”.
The British and American governments have offered air crash investigation experts to India to help discover what went wrong with flight AI171. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) noted because there were UK citizens aboard the crashed aircraft, their team is accorded “expert status in the Indian safety investigation” under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
People stand around the debris of an airplane after it crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
The debris of an airplane sticks out of a building after it crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Emergency workers douse aircraft debris at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner traveling from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport crashed shortly after taking off, in what stands to be the most serious accident involving the US planemaker’s most advanced widebody airliner. Photographer: Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Aircraft landing gear at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner traveling from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport crashed shortly after taking off, in what stands to be the most serious accident involving the US planemaker’s most advanced widebody airliner. Photographer: Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images
GUJARAT, INDIA – JUNE 12: A view of the site where a plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India’s western state of Gujarat on June 12, 2025. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Update 1310 BST — “No Survivors”
Tragic news from Gujarat as the Associated Press relates it has been told by Ahmedabad city police commissioner G.S. Malik that “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash”, and given the aircraft landed on a residential area, “some locals would have also died”, suggesting the death toll will exceed 242.
While it was earlier reported the jet crashed within five minutes of taking off, the crash site is actually only a very short distance from the end of the runway and it is now stated the flight came down after less than a minute in the air. The captain was stated to be an experienced pilot with thousands of hours of flight time.
Firefighters work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Update 1215 BST — Full Passenger Manifest Released
In an unusual move, the Indian government has made the full passenger manifest publicly available. Per The Times of India, one of those aboard in business class was the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani of the Hindu-conservative-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Guardian cites local rescue workers who said “30 bodies” have been recovered from the crash.
Read the original report below
Air India said in a statement that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat, to London Gatwick, was “involved in an accident today after take-off”. The airline said of their manifest that 242 passengers and crew were aboard and of them 169 were Indian nationals, 53 citizens of the United Kingdom, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian.
The airline said “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”
The flight was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Times of India reports that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal sounded the mayday by radio after take-off, and the jet had crashed into the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood of Ahmedabad within five minutes of leaving the ground. The paper published images of the tail-cone of the Boeing embedded in the roof of a building.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”
This story is developing, more follows
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