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Toronto – London Gatwick Airport bound Boeing Boeing 787-8 AI171 Air India passengers plane had a tragic accident on Thursday. It took place just after take off from Ahmedabad Airport. It reportedly crashed into the hostel of medical college close to the airport.
The airline confirmed “Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.”
What do we know about the accident so far?
According to information from Air India, the flight took off at 13:38 local time. It was carrying 242 passengers including crew members. 169 of them are reported to be Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian Nationals and 7 Portuguese Nationals.
Although the airline reported that those passengers injured from the accident were taken to hospital, other sources reported only one survivor. 241 passengers and crew members were killed. The survivor is a British national of Indian origin. He was seating on spot 11A of the plane -towards the front.
As of now, about 204 bodies are recovered. There are sources who report that the number of people killed in the accident is at least 290.
Later, Air India offered condolences in a post shared on X : “Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones.”
Apart from passengers, there are victims on the ground on the crash site.
“A special team of caregivers from Air India has arrived in Ahmedabad to provide support to our teams on the ground. We are working with local authorities to provide necessary assistance and are extending full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident,” Air India announced after confirming the accident.
It also announced that it arranged two flights from Mumabai and Delhi to Ahmedabad for the next of kin of passengers and Air India staff.
Cause of the crash
The cause of the crash is not yet determined. Reports indicate that an investigation is underway to establish why the plane failed to climb after takeoff.
Aljazeera cited Former FAA and NTSB crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti , from the The Associated press, to report that “Video of the plane from right before the crash does not show any smoke or fire, so he said it does not appear that a bird strike was an issue.”
Video : embedded from FirstPost Youtube channel
Cover photo : screenshot from the video
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