Hundreds Dead in Catastrophic Air India Plane Crash in Ahmedabad

An Air India flight with more than 240 people on board that was heading to London’s Gatwick Airport crashed in a populated area of Ahmedabad, India, with investigators saying only one man seated near the front of the plane miraculously survived.The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed just minutes after taking off, careening into the roof of a building. The death toll is expected to rise as first-responders go through the wreckage.Local media outlets reported that the plane crashed on top of the dining area of the state-run B.J. Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well. More than 100 bodies have been recovered so far, according to the Associated Press.“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” Ahmedabad’s city police commissioner, G.S. Malik, said to the news wire service.Air India said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian on the flight bound for London Gatwick Airport. Part of the plane fell on top of the medical college in Ahmedabad, killing at least five medical students and injuring nearly 50, according to a medical association.Footage shows smoke rising from a crash site near Ahmedabad airport, in a populated area of the city, Gujarat’s capital and Prime Minister Modi’s home state. Firefighters are seen dousing the smoldering wreckage and adjacent buildings with water to quell the flames.The United Kingdom says it’s working with authorities in India to investigate the crash and provide support.“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” Prime Minister Starmer said in a statement.Prime Minister Modi said in a post on X that the crash was “heartbreaking beyond words.”“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” he said. “In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”The last major plane crash in India was in August 2020 when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a runway on a hilltop in southern India, leaving 21 people dead.The country’s worst airplane disaster occurred in 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided in midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines plane, killing a total of 349 people.

Hundreds Dead in Catastrophic Air India Plane Crash in Ahmedabad

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