Firefighters work at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (Photo by Sam Panthaky / AFP)
Ahmedabad, India: A London-bound passenger plane crashed Thursday in India's western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviation officials said in what the airline called a "tragic accident".
Air India's flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff, officials said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as "heartbreaking beyond words" the crash in Ahmedabad, where an AFP journalist saw rescuers picking through charred wreckage at the crash site.
"Our office is near the building where the plane crashed. We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames," said one resident, who declined to be named.
India's civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were "devastating", in a statement addressing passengers and their families "at this deeply distressing time."
The plane issued a mayday call and "crashed immediately after takeoff" outside the airport perimeter, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Ahmedabad, the main city of India's Gujarat state, is home of around eight million people, and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.
An AFP journalist in the city said the plane crashed in an area between Ahmedabad civil hospital and the city's Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.
Authorities said it went down outside the airport perimeter, in a crowded residential area, which local media said included a hostel where medical students and young doctors live.
"When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," Poonam Patni told AFP.
"Many of the bodies were burned."
Another resident, who declined to be named, said: "We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames.
"We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital."
'Devastating'
Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu 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," he added.
The airport was shut with all flights "suspended until further notice", the operator said.
An emergency centre has been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information, Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said.
"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event," he said.
India's airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling growth "nothing short of phenomenal".
The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world's fourth-largest air market -- domestic and international -- with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.
Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft -- 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.
India's domestic air passenger traffic reached a milestone last year by "surpassing 500,000 passengers in a single day", according to India's Ministry of Civil Aviation.
