A single passenger survived the fiery crash of an Air India passenger plane in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, killing more than 240 people bound for London and others on the ground, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused one of India’s worst airline disasters in decades. A video of the crash shows the plane with with its nose pointed upward, sinking toward the ground before slamming into a medical college.
The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first Dreamliner crash since it went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled carrier to private ownership after decades of government control.
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Hindu Federation of Canada mourns victims of Air India flight
The Mississauga, Ont.-based Hindu Federation of Canada released a statement mourning the victims of the Air India plane crash.
“This devastating loss touches us collectively. Among the deceased are innocent passengers, students, and members of the Hindu community and other faiths whose lives were full of promise and purpose,” federation President Pandit Roopnauth Sharma said. “As Hindus, we believe in the eternal atman, the soul’s indestructibility—and while their bodies have perished, their spirits endure. Let us unite in prayer and remembrance.”
The federation encourages member temples and organizations to hold special memorial prayers this weekend, the statement reads.
Lynn Chaya, CTVNews.ca journalist.
Canadian victim lived in Etobicoke, Ont.: neighbours
A Canadian dentist killed in the Air India crash on Thursday lived in Etobicoke, neighbours tell CTV News Toronto.
Nirali Patel was the lone Canadian national on board the London-bound flight that crashed in northwestern India. Patel worked as a dentist in Mississauga, Ont.
The crash’s sole survivor escaped without life-threatening injuries
A doctor at a nearby hospital said he examined the survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who reportedly walked away after the crash.
“He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. “But he seems to be out of danger.”
Ramesh called his relatives in Leicester, according to the BBC. He has a wife and “little boy” at home, said his cousin Ajay Valgi.
The survivor’s brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh told the BBC: “He said, `I have no idea how I exited the plane.”'
The Associated Press
Indian authorities turn to DNA testing to identify burned bodies
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, said medical students who were in a college hostel when the plane hit the building are among the dead.
“Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,” she said.
Dhananjay Dwivedi, a civil official in Gujarat, told reporters that DNA testing arrangements were being made.
The Canadian citizen killed in crash was a dentist and mother of a 1-year-old
The family of Nirali Sureshkumar Patel said she was among the 240 passengers. Her dental clinic in Mississauga, Ontario, referred Canadian Press to the husband, who said that he was in the process of booking travel to India for himself and their baby.
“That was my wife,” he said. “I am not in a state to speak right now.”
He declined to provide his full name.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” to learn of the crash and was receiving regular updates on the situation, confirming one Canadian was on the flight.
The Associated Press
Trump talks plane crash in India
The president described it as “terrible” and “horrific.” He also said he’s offered help to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Associated Press
British MP says some of her constituents were on the flight
Shivani Raja, a Conservative member of the British Parliament, told the BBC her community in Leicester in central England has a high number of people from the state of Gujurat
They were “horrified and devastated waking up to such tragic news,” She said.
Raja said she and relatives have complained recently about delays on the popular flight route.
Only a month ago, a family member had a flight delayed for more than a day because of an engine malfunction. Raja said she had experienced her own delays due to malfunctions on the same flight.
She said she planned to write to Indian authorities, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority and Air India regarding its safety.
“I’m not trying to add to any speculation here,” she said. “There has to be a reason why this plane has crashed right? And I’m determined to find out the cause of that.”
The Associated Press
Survivor of Air India crash jumped out of emergency exit: police
Ramesh Viswashkumar, the only known survivor out of the 242 people onboard an Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday, had been sitting near an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to jump out, police said.
Speaking from his hospital bed, the 40-year-old told Indian media that he was a British national and was travelling to Britain with his brother after visiting family in India.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times.
Social media footage shown on Indian news channels showed a man in a bloodstained white t-shirt and dark pants limping on a street and being helped by a medic. The man had bruises on his face and a goatee beard, resembling photographs of Viswashkumar in hospital after the crash that were published by local media.
Reuters could not immediately verify the video, in which people gathered around the man and asked him where were the other passengers, to which he replied “they’re all inside.”
Reuters
Lone survivor brought to hospital
A doctor said Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital had received 186 bodies from the Air India flight that crashed Thursday.
Dr. Dhaval Gameti also said he examined the lone survivor of the crash after he was brought to the hospital.
“He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Gameti told the AP.
“But he seems to be out of danger.”
He identified the survivor as Ramesh Viswashkumar.
The Associated Press
Canadian passenger identified by family
The family of a dentist from Mississauga, Ont., says she is the Canadian citizen believed to be on an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday.
The husband of Nirali Sureshkumar Patel confirmed she was among the 240 passengers on the London-bound flight.
Patel’s dental clinic referred The Canadian Press to the husband, who said that he was in the process of booking travel to India for himself and the couple’s one-year-old child.
He declined to provide his full name and said he wasn’t in a state to speak further.
The plane crashed in a residential area of India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad, a city of more than five million people.
Local police say there are no known survivors.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” to learn of the crash and is receiving regular updates on the situation, confirming one Canadian was on the flight.
The Canadian Press. Read the full story here.
A ‘difficult’ investigation ahead: expert
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is leading a team of investigators headed to India, the government body wrote on social media Thursday morning.
Investigators are hoping for key insights on the crash’s cause from the two orange boxes housing the flight data record and cockpit voice recorder, according to Chris Lomas, a pilot and analyst with flightradar24.com.
Lomas, speaking to CTV News Channel, called the crash sight “awkward” to investigate. Officials must separate the plane wreckage from ground debris strewn throughout the scene during the crash. It’s also a residential area, meaning investigators will need to negotiate space with those who live there.
“Managing a scene like that is quite difficult,” he said.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.
A senior ex-official died in the crash, Indian lawmaker says
A former chief minister of the state where the crash took place was aboard the plane and is believed to have died, a lawmaker said.
Vijay Rupani, who had served as the top elected official in Gujarat state, was among the dead, said Sambit Patra, a lawmaker from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on the social media platform X. Rupani was also a member of the BJP.
The Associated Press
British air accident investigators are being sent to India
The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was sending a multidisciplinary investigation team to assist their Indian counterparts on the crash of the London-bound flight.
The U.K. is entitled under international rules to send their own investigators because there were a significant number of British casualties. Officials said 53 British citizens were aboard the plane.
The U.S. is also entitled to investigate because the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing Co., is based there.
The Associated Press
On the ground, at least 5 medical students killed, around 50 injured
Part of the plane fell on top of the dining area of B.J. Medical College, killing at least five medical students and injuring nearly 50.
That’s according to Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, a national body that represents resident doctors across the country.
“Some of the injured are critical. We are in close contact with our peers in the hospital who are on a lookout for more people feared buried in the debris,” he said.
The Associated Press
Pakistan: Sadness over Air India crash
“Condolences over the loss of precious lives in this tragic incident. Our sympathies are with the families of the victims in this hour of grief,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar wrote on X.
Dar’s comments follow a breakdown in Pakistan’s relations with India after a gun massacre on tourists in April that India blamed on Pakistan.
The two countries came close to the brink of war until intense diplomatic efforts successfully brokered a truce. The ceasefire, on May 11, has largely held but the nuclear armed neighbors remain hostile toward each other.
The Associated Press
Former U.K. leader Sunak reacts
Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he and his wife Askhata Murty said they are “deeply shocked and distressed” by the news of the crash of the Air India Boeing 787 that was heading from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.
Sunak, who is of Indian descent, became the U.K.’s first Hindu prime minister in 2022 and remained premier until he lost last year’s general election. Murty is Indian.
“There is a unique bond between our two nations and our thoughts and prayers go out to the British and Indian families who have lost loved ones today,” Sunak said on X.
The Associated Press
Expert says plane parts did not seem properly configured
Aviation safety consultant John M. Cox said one of the questions investigators will be asking is whether the Air India plane that crashed Thursday was properly configured for flight.
While he stressed it was too early to make any conclusions, the CEO of Washington DC-based Safety Operating Systems said the grainy images of the flight suggested that one area of inquiry was likely to be whether the slats and flaps were in the correct position as the plane attempted to climb.
“The image shows the airplane with the nose rising and it continuing to sink,’’ he said. “That says that the airplane is not making enough lift.’’ The slats and flaps should be positioned so that the wing makes more lift at lower speeds.
“It’s hard to tell but from looking at the aircraft from behind … it doesn’t look like that the trailing edge flaps are in the position I would have expected them to be,’’ he said. “But I’m very cautious that the image quality is not good enough to make that a conclusion. It’s just an area where I know that they’re going to look.’’
The Associated Press
Air India was privatized in 2022
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled carrier to private ownership after decades of government control.
The 180 billion rupee (then worth $2.4 billion) deal was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort to sell off loss-making state-run businesses.
It was in some ways a homecoming for Air India, which was launched by the Tata family in 1932.
Since the takeover, Air India has ordered hundreds of new planes, redesigned its branding and livery, and merged it with smaller airlines Tata held stakes in.
The Associated Press
King Charles says he is ‘desperately shocked’
King Charles III said on Thursday he was desperately shocked by the Air India plane crash in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, with passengers including 53 Britons and one Canadian.
“My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning,” the monarch said in a statement.
“Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones.
“I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.”
Reuters. Read the full story here.
Carney: Canadians in ‘close contact’ with Indian officials
Prime Minister Mark Carney is responding to the crash, which claimed the life of one Canadian.
“Devastated to learn of the crash of a London-bound Air India plane in Ahmedabad, carrying 242 passengers — including one Canadian. My thoughts are with the loved ones of everyone on board,” reads a social media post from the prime minister.
“Canada’s transportation officials are in close contact with counterparts.”
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist.
No survivors, say police
Ahmedabad’s city police commissioner says there appears to be no survivors
“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Commissioner G.S. Malik told The Associated Press.
He added that with the plane crashing in a residential area with offices, “some locals would have also died.”
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said.
The flight crashed midday shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport with more than 240 people on board.
The Associated Press
Seems ‘problem occurred very suddenly’: expert
John McDermid, a computer scence professor at the University of York with expertise in safety engineering, said that while it was too early to know much about the cause of the crash it appeared to be very surprising at first glance.
While takeoffs and landings are the most dangerous phases of a flight, he noted that the plane had not climbed above 200 meters (650 feet).
“Pilots can abort takeoff until quite late,” McDermid said. “So it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly in the final part of the takeoff roll, or shortly after takeoff, and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.”
He also said that jets have many backup systems, such as the ability to climb with only one engine, which also made it an unusual accident.
The Associated Press
‘Sincere sympathy’ from Putin
In a message to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deepest condolences” in the aftermath of the Air India crash.
“Please convey my sincere sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, as well as my wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured in this disaster,” he said in a letter published on the Kremlin’s website.
The Associated Press
Boeing’s 787 first entered service in 2009
At the time, it was the world’s first airliner made mostly from lightweight composite materials. It was also the first to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries.
In 2013 the 787 fleet, which numbered around 50 jets at the time, was temporarily grounded because of overheating of its lithium-ion batteries, which in some cases sparked fires.
The Associated Press
Modi says crash is ‘heartbreaking beyond words’
In a social media post, Modi said the tragedy in Ahmedabad “has stunned and saddened us.”
“In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,” he said, adding he has been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.
The Associated Press
Starmer: Crash is ‘devastating’
“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” Starmer said in a statement.
Air India said the passengers onboard the Boeing 787-8 included 53 British nationals. Britain has very close ties with India and according to the 2021 U.K. census, there were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch echoed the prime minister’s message.
“My thoughts are with all those affected — especially the families of those on board, and the emergency teams responding to what appears to be a horrifying tragedy,” Badenoch said on the X social media platform.
The Associated Press
Boeing shares tumble
Boeing said in a brief statement: “We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information.”
The crash comes days before the opening of the Paris Air Show, a major aviation expo where Boeing and European rival Airbus will showcase their aircraft and battle for jet orders from airline customers.
Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members.
Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled as much as 9% before trading opened in the U.S.
The Associated Press
Last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020
In August 2020 an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people.
The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhastan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes.
The Associated Press
India’s foreign minister ‘deeply shocked’
India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said he was “deeply shocked to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad” in a post on X. “Our prayers are with the passengers and their families,” he said.
The Associated Press
Passengers included Indian, British, Portuguese and Canadian nationals
Air India in a statement said there were 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.
The Associated Press
