Among the 242 people on board, 52 passengers were from Britain, 6 were from Portugal, 1 passenger was from Canada...

Air India Aircraft Crashes in Ahmedabad; 53 British, 7 Portuguese, 1 Canadian Among 242 Onboard

An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANB), operating flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London (Gatwick), crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon, falling into a residential area in Meghani Nagar, just minutes after departure from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA).

The aircraft, which took off at 1:39 PM IST from Runway 23, was carrying a total of 242 people, including 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew members. The aircraft issued a MAYDAY call but lost contact with Air Traffic Control soon after.

Among the 242 people on board, 53 passengers were from Britain, 7 were from Portugal, 1 passenger was from Canada, and the remaining 169 passengers were Indian nationals.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the flight was commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, alongside First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.

Following the crash, all flight operations at SVPIA were suspended, and rescue operations were immediately mobilized. Thick black smoke was seen rising from the crash site. Officials from the Directorate of Airworthiness and Flight Operations were already in Ahmedabad for other duties and have now been assigned to the investigation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu assured full central assistance. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel confirmed that a green corridor was being established to transport injured passengers swiftly to hospitals and that relief and rescue operations were underway on a priority basis.

According to ANI, PM Modi spoke to HM Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu. He has asked them to leave for Ahmedabad and ensure all possible assistance is extended to those affected in the wake of the air mishap.

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