Tragedy struck on Thursday when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing more than 200 people on board. Authorities have confirmed at least one survivor from what is being described as India’s worst aviation disaster in over a decade.
The London-bound Flight AI171 was carrying 242 people, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese passengers, and one Canadian. The crash also claimed the lives of two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. The aircraft issued a mayday call before plummeting into a medical college hostel near the airport around 1:40 pm local time (0810 GMT).
In a rare miracle, 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar, seated in 11A, survived the crash and spoke from his hospital bed to local media. “Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” he told the Hindustan Times. “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran.”
Viswashkumar, still visibly shaken, added that his brother Ajay was also on the flight but remains missing. “Please help me find him,” he pleaded.
Authorities say over 50 injured individuals have been hospitalized, and search-and-rescue efforts continue at the crash site, where the wreckage lies strewn across the densely populated area.
Images from the scene show the tail of the aircraft embedded in a nearby building, while debris, charred belongings, and parts of the fuselage litter the crash zone. Emergency crews, local police, and volunteers worked frantically to rescue survivors and recover bodies.
Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer, confirmed the sole survivor and noted that more passengers could potentially be alive but critically injured in hospitals.
Air India has confirmed the flight was headed to London’s Gatwick Airport. The airline and India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have launched investigations into the cause of the crash. The DGCA stated the aircraft reported trouble shortly after takeoff.
In an official statement, Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, expressed sorrow and said it is “working to gather more information” and will assist Air India as needed. Notably, this is the first recorded crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a fuel-efficient wide-body jet considered a cornerstone of Boeing’s long-haul fleet.
The incident has triggered an outpouring of condolences from global leaders. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X: “We extend our condolences to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss.” Other Pakistani leaders, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif, echoed the sentiment, highlighting the shared grief beyond borders.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party added: “This devastating loss reminds us of our shared humanity. I express my profound condolences to the people of India.”
