London-bound flight from Ahmedabad crashes during take-off: Here’s what we know so far

An Air India AI-171 flight, Boeing 787-8 dreamliner, scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad to London, crashed during take-off at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The incident occurred around 1.38 pm , shortly after the aircraft began its ascent.

According to preliminary information, within just two minutes of take-off, the rear portion of the aircraft reportedly collided with a tree, causing it to veer off course and crash into a nearby airport structure. The impact was severe, resulting in injuries to several passengers and crew members. Emergency response teams were immediately deployed to the scene.

Experts say that the aircraft was at an altitude of around 625 feet at the time of the crash. Had it been at 35,000 feet, the crew members would have had more time to manage the situation, and many lives could have been saved.

It has emerged that the flight had around 52 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian citizen on board. However, the pilot had only about a minute to respond to the emergency.

As per ATC, "aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft Immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site," the statement added.

Persons on board

A total of 242 individuals were on board the aircraft:

2 pilots

10 cabin crew members

230 passengers

Flight Crew

Commander: Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal

First Officer: Clive Kundar

Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel and CM Patel have left for Civil Hospital where injured have been shifted. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah contacted Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to obtain details about the situation. The CM, who was in Surat at the time, is en route to Ahmedabad. A BSF rescue team has also reached the site and initiated relief operations.

Disturbing visuals from the crash site have surfaced, showing the extent of the damage and the chaos following the incident.

There are unconfirmed reports suggesting that former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani may have been aboard the ill-fated flight. Media sources indicate that he was scheduled to travel to London on this flight, though official confirmation is still awaited.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash, and further updates are expected shortly.

List of the passengers on board