An Air India flight bound for London crashed on Thursday shortly after takeoff near Ahmedabad airport, one of the most populous cities in the giant of South Asia. The plane was carrying 242 people on board.
Shocking images showed debris engulfed in flames and a thick column of black smoke near the runway. According to the flight tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft lost signal at 10:08 Spain time, shortly after takeoff.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, told the Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787, crashed in a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after takeoff.
The 787 Dreamliner is a wide-body, twin-engine aircraft. This is the first accident involving a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The Indian Aviation Minister has stated that rescue teams have been mobilized and are on high alert.
The Chief Minister of Gujarat, where Ahmedabad is the state capital, has explained that rescue teams have been ordered to be on "war footing". It has also been reported that the airport is not operational at the moment and all flights have been suspended.
Over the past decade, India has witnessed several tragic air accidents that have left a deep impact on the country. One of the most remembered accidents was an Air India Express plane that departed from Dubai and crashed in 2010 at Mangalore airport, leaving 158 people dead.
In 2020, a Boeing 737 skidded off the runway while attempting to land amid heavy rains at Kozhikode airport, crashing into a valley. There were 21 fatalities.