An Air India airliner bound for England crashed Thursday morning just after takeoff from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state. As revealed by local media, there were 242 people on board, according to Associated Press. The presence of a sole survivor has been confirmed: a 40-year-old British citizen who was seated in 11A and was reportedly thrown from the aircraft upon impact. He is currently hospitalized in serious but stable condition. Because of the crash, there were at least 40 more victims, so the total death toll rose to 290.
The aircraft, according to initial reports a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was supposed to land at London Gatwick Airport. The crash occurred only nine minutes after takeoff, not too far from the perimeter of the local hub and near a residential area.
Immediately after the crash, a column of black smoke rose at the scene, visible from several kilometers away. Help immediately arrived at the scene, with fire trucks and ambulances. At the moment, the number of casualties, if any, has not yet been released, nor the number of injured.
India’s Minister of Aviation has declared a state of high alert. ”The plane lost contact with the control tower seconds after takeoff. According to Flight Radar data, reported by the BBC, at that time the aircraft was at an altitude of just 625 feet.
The passengers, Air India informs, turned out to be 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian. Ahmedabad’s “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel” International Airport was temporarily closed, with all takeoffs and arrivals suspended until further notice.
