An Air India flight en route to London Gatwick has crashed shortly after departing Ahmedabad Airport, resulting in a major aviation disaster.
Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, took off at 1:38 PM IST.
Within five minutes, the aircraft issued a Mayday and crashed in Meghani Nagar, a densely-populated residential area near the airport.
Eyewitness footage shows thick smoke and flames at the crash site.
Multiple buildings were damaged in the crash.
A total of 242 people were onboard: 230 passengers (including 11 children) and 12 crew members.
Passengers included 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian nationals.
Initial reports confirm at least 40–49 fatalities, with many others injured.
Rescue teams, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are working to locate survivors.
Victims are being transported to local hospitals.
The Captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, had approximately 8,200 flight hours.
Co-pilot Clive Kundar logged around 1,100.
This marks the first fatal crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Ahmedabad Airport has halted all flight operations temporarily.
Early speculation points to a potential bird strike, which may have affected takeoff performance, though no official cause has been established.
