One survivor has been found in the deadly crash of an Air India plane carrying 242 people, after it rammed into a nearby doctors' hostel shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, a senior police officer said.
Speaking to ANI on a phone call, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik says, "The police found one survivor in seat 11A. He has been in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area."
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
"After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the ... plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors' hostel," Jaipal Singh Rathore, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, told reporters.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the doctors' hostel near the airport perimeter.
Air India said that among the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian national.
"Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident," the Airlines said.
The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The official added that the copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience.
As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. The official said that heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat government has mobilised three teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 90 personnel, from Gandhinagar to the crash site to aid rescue operations.
The Ahmedabad City Police has released an emergency helpline number for assistance and information related to the crash. "Ahmedabad City Police Emergency Number for Police Emergency Services and necessary information related to the Ahmedabad Plane Crash 07925620359," Ahmedabad Police stated in a post on X. (ANI)