An Air India passenger plane crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon, not long after departing for London’s Gatwick airport, Indian media and officials reported. The airline confirmed only that the London-bound flight had been involved in “an incident.”
The director general of India’s directorate of civil aviation, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed five minutes after taking off, at 1:38 p.m. local time. Kidwal said there were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, the AP reported.
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today,” Air India said in a social media post. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates.”
Live flight tracking website Flight Radar said it received a final signal from Flight AI171 just seconds after it took off.
The flight path on Flight Radar showed the aircraft traveling southwest from the airport a short distance before the path stopped.
There was no immediate confirmation from Indian officials of suspected casualties, but India’s Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a statement on social media that he was “shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad.”
Ajit Solanki/AP
Kinjarapu said officials were “on highest alert” and that he was “personally monitoring this situation” and had “directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.”
“Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” Kinjarapu said.
Gatwick Airport confirmed in a statement that Flight AI171 “crashed on departure from Ahmedabad Airport today.” The airport said the plane had been due to land at Gatwick, which is just south of London, at 6:25 p.m. local time (1:25 p.m. Eastern).
Indian TV channels showed thick smoke rising from the crash site, with some images showing significant damage to buildings and multiple ambulances rushing to the scene.