Passenger plane in India crashes in a city: hundreds of people are expected to die
12 June 13:31
An Air India plane heading to London with 242 people on board crashed on Thursday a few minutes after takeoff from the city of Ahmedabad in western India. This was reported by airline and police officials, and the relevant videos are available online. India’s federal health minister said that “many people” were killed, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Reuters.
According to Air India, the plane was en route to the British Gatwick airport. Police reported that the plane crashed in a residential area near the airport.
“The building where the plane crashed is a hostel for doctors… we have cleared almost 70-80% of the area and will finish the rest soon,”
– a senior police officer told reporters.
The plane was carrying 242 people, including 217 adults and 11 children, a source told Reuters. Among them were 169 Indian citizens, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and 1 Canadian, Air India said.
Flightradar24, an aviation tracking website, reported that the plane in question was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in operation.
“We are currently investigating the details and will provide further updates. The injured are being taken to nearby hospitals,”
– Air India wrote on the social network X.
The crash occurred immediately after the plane took off, TV channels reported. One of the channels showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen, after which a huge column of fire rose into the sky from behind the houses.
The footage also shows burning wreckage with thick black smoke rising into the sky near the airport. People are also shown being carried out on stretchers and taken away in ambulances.
According to the Ahmedabad airport’s air traffic control, the plane took off at 13:39 local time (10:09 Kyiv time). The crew sent a Mayday signal, which means an emergency, but after that, communication with the plane was lost.
Flightradar24 also reported that the last signal from the plane was received a few seconds after takeoff.
Boeing said it was aware of the first reports and was working to gather more information.
Boeing shares fell 6.8% to $199.13 in pre-market trading.
