By Barth Ikiebe.
,,,,,204 bodies recovered.
An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, with 242 people on board, including several British nationals on Thursday.
Our correspondent gathered that the aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (registration: VT-ANB), operating as Flight AI171, reportedly lost signal at 08:08:51 UTC,just moments after departure.
According to the State Police Control Room, the plane was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
Emergency response teams are currently at the crash site near the IGB Ground in Ahmedabad, where the wreckage of the aircraft was found atop a building, billowing thick plumes of black smoke.
Although no official casualty figures have been released, multiple fatalities are feared, preliminary reports indicate the nationalities of the passengers include 169 Indian nationals,
53 British nationals,7 Portuguese nationals and
1 Canadian national
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed the incident, and rescue efforts are ongoing.
More details to follow.
