Indian officials say no survivors in Flight AI171 crash
None of the 232 passengers and 10 crew on the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner survived the crash, one of the worst ever aviation tragedies, reports NDTV quoting Indian officials.
The Flight AI171 carrying 242 people crashed immediately after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon.
The plane slammed into a hostel for doctors of a medical college, killing five students. Visuals from the crash site show debris had pierced through the wall of a dining hall of the hostel, with food still visible on some of the plates.
A video of the aircraft flying low and struggling to gain altitude shows the plane slamming the ground and exploding in a massive ball of fire at 1.38 pm. It was loaded with fuel since it was flying a long distance to London.
Shortly after take-off, the pilot sent out a mayday call. There was no response after that to repeated calls from the air traffic controller, say reports.
In the final moments, the catastrophic failure to achieve lift happened at a very low altitude of 825 feet. The aircraft was clearly unable to climb, aviation expert Sanjay Lazar told NDTV.
Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, had on board 169 Indians, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals.
Visuals showed charred wreckage of the plane, thick smoke rising from the site and emergency personnel at work. Some videos also showed injured taken to hospitals.
At least two dozen ambulances arrived at the site and some have taken away injured people to hospital. The police have diverted traffic from the area.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement said the aircraft piloted by captain Sumeet Sabharwal with 8,200 hours of experience and first officer Clive Kundar with 1,100 hours of experience made a mayday call just before the crash.
AFP adds: Ahmedabad police said they had collected 204 dead bodies after a London-bound passenger plane with 242 people on board crashed into residential buildings.
"We have found 204 bodies," city police commissioner GS Malik told AFP, adding that 41 injured people were "under treatment".
The dead included those from the plane crash and from buildings into which the plane smashed. "Rescue work is ongoing," he said.
Earlier GS Malik told The Associated Press, “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.”
He added that the crash’s location in a densely populated area with offices and residences likely resulted in local casualties.
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said, as rescue teams continue to comb through the wreckage.
The aircraft, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members – including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian–issued a “Mayday” call seconds after departing Runway 23, but no further communication was received. FlightRadar24 reported the plane’s signal was lost at 825 feet, moments after take-off.
The crash site, adjacent to the airport, saw debris pierce the hostel’s dining hall, collapsing parts of the canteen where medical students were present.
Emergency response teams, including fire brigades, ambulances, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) units, are battling the blaze and recovering bodies. At least two dozen ambulances have transported victims to Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital via a green corridor. All roads around Meghaninagar are sealed, and SVPIA has suspended flight operations indefinitely.
