'At least 242 aboard Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad'

AN Air India plane headed to London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday (12), the airline and police said, without specifying whether there were any fatalities.

The plane was headed to Gatwick airport in the UK, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.

Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.

"At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates," Air India said on X.

The crash occurred when the aircraft was taking off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge cloud of fire rising into the sky from beyond the houses.

Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport. They also showed visuals of people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.

According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a "Mayday" call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter no there was no response from the aircraft.

Flightradar24 also said that it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.

In this combo of images, a London-bound Air India plane crashes moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (PTI Photo)www.easterneye.biz

"The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB," it said. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

India's aviation minster said he was "shocked and devastated" at the tragic incident, saying his "thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families".

"I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action," Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a statment.

"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. "My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families."

The last fatal plane crash in India involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm. The airline's Boeing-737 overshot a "table-top" runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India in 2020. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.

Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.

(Agencies)