ISLAMABAD: An Air India plane headed to London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, the airline and police said, without specifying whether there were any fatalities, Reuters reported.
Air India said on Thursday one of its aircraft, operating from the Indian city of Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, had been “involved in an incident”, AFP reported.
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025,” AFP cited an Air India spokesperson statement as saying. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”
Flight AI171 is listed as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which can hold more than 200 passengers. Fire service officials said that an aircraft had crashed, without giving further details, and thick plumes of black smoke were seen over the city’s airport, according to AFP.
AFP cited Air India as saying that the 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound passenger plane that crashed on Thursday included 169 Indian passengers, as well as British, Canadian and Portuguese nationals.
“The flight… was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft”, AFP cited Air India as saying. India’s civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.
Thick plumes of black smoke were seen over the airport, according to AFP.
Reuters reported that the crash occurred when the aircraft was taking off.
AFP reported India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.
In 2010 an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.
