The death count presumably includes those who died at the doctors' residence as well, of which an official confirmation has yet not been issued.
Home minister Amit Shah, in a late-evening media briefing, said the crash of the plane that was carrying 1.25 lakh litres of fuel generated such high heat that there was little chance anyone could be saved.
One person did survive the fiery crash -- he was at seat 11A, and was put under treatment. News agency PTI later confirmed it, saying , the passenger in news, was travelling to London with his brother.
In his briefing, Shah also confirmed the news of the survivor, saying he met him at the hospital.Shah announced a detailed probe into the crash. The final details of the dead, including the eventual number of fatalities, will only be ascertained after a DNA test, he said.The pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.
According to Air India, of the passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani was among the 230 passengers and 12 crew members on the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport. His demise was later confirmed by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was headed to UK, crashed at 1.39 pm while taking off, sending huge billows of smoke emanating near Meghaninagar. The local police confirmed that the plane crashed into a doctors' hostel.
Ahmedabad Plane Crash Live Updates
Following a brief closure due to the crash, Ahmedabad International Airport resumed its operations with limited flights, said an Airport spokesperson.
The Air India plane bound for London, which lost altitude soon after take- off, crashed into residential quarters of BJ Medical College doctors in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area on Thursday, causing severe damage to buildings in the premises, eyewitnesses said.
Many people living in the residential quarters located near the Ahmedabad airport were injured in the crash, reports said, although official confirmation is still awaited.
The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors of the government-run college, an eyewitness, Haresh Shah, told PTI.
"There are several five-floor buildings which serve as residential quarters. Many people in those apartments were injured as the buildings also caught fire," he said.
Another eyewitness said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.
Tata Chairman N Chandrasekaran later announced that Rs 1 crore will be provided to the family of each person who lost their life in the crash. He said the company was focused on "supporting all the affected people and their families" and that it was doing all it could to assist the emergency response teams at the site.
"As per ATC, aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft Immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site," the DGCA said.Air India, too, later confirmed on X that Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident.
In another post, the airline said that of the 242 people onboard the plane were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.
Ahmedabad Air India Plane Crash Video
Three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 90 personnel, were moved from Gandhinagar to the plane crash site. The NDRF has said that a total of three more teams were moved from Vadodara.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he is personally monitoring the situation. He took to X to say, "Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site..."Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the crash was "heartbreaking beyond words." In a statement on social media, he said, "In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it."
Modi later sent Shah and Naidu to Gujarat to take stock of the situation, reports said.
