ALL 242 PEOPLE ABOARD CRASHED AIR INDIA PLANE BELIEVED DEAD: REPORT

Thu 12 June 2025:

All 242 people on board the UK-bound Air India flight that crashed in western India on Thursday are believed to have died, News18 reported.

At least five students were also killed and several injured when the plane slammed into a medical college hostel, with Ahmedabad Police confirming that 25 people were injured on the ground.

Air India Flight AI171, carrying 242 people, crashed in the Meghaninagar residential area shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India’s western state of Gujarat, according to India’s Civil Aviation Directorate General.

The airliner said 169 of the passengers on board were Indian nationals, plus 53 UK citizens, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada, in addition to two pilots and 10 members of the cabin crew.

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Some locals will have died – police chiefpublished at 14:25

Ahmedabad’s police chief GS Malik, who earlier said there appear to be no survivors from the crash.

He also says that because the plane crashed in a residential area, “some locals would have also died”.

“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he says, according to AP.

The plane crashed into doctors’ accommodation when it came down near the airport in Ahmedabad.

Darshna Vaghela, a local politician, tells reporters the flats of several doctors have been damaged.

“I was in my office nearby when the plane crashed and there was a loud thud,” she says. “We rescued many doctors from their flats.”

Poonam Patel, who is at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, tells news agency ANI that his sister-in-law was on the flight to London.

“Within an hour, I got the news that the plane had crashed. So I came here,” he says.

Ramila says her son had just gone into the doctors’ hostel for a lunch break when the plane crashed there.

She says he jumped from the second floor and suffered injuries, but is safe.

In a post on X, PM Modi says: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words.

“In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.

“Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”

Crisis teams set up in India and the UK, Lammy says

The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has arranged crisis teams in India and the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy says.

He tells the Commons: “My thoughts, and I’m sure those of the entire House, are with those who’ve been affected by the tragic plane crash in India this morning.

“We know that British nationals were on board and I can confirm that the FCDO is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London.”

King and Queen ‘desperately shocked’ by crash

King, who says he and Queen Camilla are “desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning”.

“Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones.

“I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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