Horror as Gatwick-bound Air India jet with 242 on board

An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick carrying 242 passengers and crew has crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat.

Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, careened back to earth in the Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway.

Shocking images shared to social media showed a huge trail of smoke emanating from the crash site near the international airport this morning.

Chunks of the plane’s fuselage and tail were also seen protruding from a demolished building.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but a video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.

Emergency services are en route to the scene in the hopes of finding survivors, but the scale of the damage displayed in early images suggests there are likely to be heavy casualties.

Indian news agency ANI reported that police sources confirmed 242 people were on board the flight.

Air India shared a brief statement in the wake of the crash, writing on X: ‘Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025.

‘At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.’

Aircraft tracking service FlightRadar24 declared the plane’s transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.

‘We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,’ it said.

India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement: ‘Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on highest alert.

‘I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.

‘Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.’