Air India said 241 people aboard a London-bound plane that crashed minutes after takeoff in India have died
The airline confirmed there is one survivor, a” British national of Indian origin,” who is currently hospitalized
Air India said it is cooperating with investigators looking into the crash
After a London-bound plane crashed shortly after takeoff in India, officials have confirmed that 241 victims aboard the flight have died.
In an X post shared on Thursday, June 12, Air India said the only survivor from the crash is “a British national of Indian origin.” That person is currently hospitalized.
Air India said that at the time of the flight, there were 230 passengers and 12 crew on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
“The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national,” the airline said.
“Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,” the company further added. “Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones.”
The airline said it was fully cooperating with authorities investigating the crash.
The plane, which was flying from Ahmedabad in western India and was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a residential area five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time on Thursday, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told the Associated Press.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik initially said there were “no survivors in the plane crash,” but later told local outlet News18, “My earlier statement was misquoted.”
Malik told news agency ANI that there was at least one confirmed survivor of the crash, who was traveling in seat 11A on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight, according to the BBC, which reported that a flight manifest shared by authorities listed British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh as the passenger in 11A.
The commissioner said the survivor “has been in the hospital and is under treatment.”
Ramesh told ANI, “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” according to the BBC.
Air India, which was operating the plane, confirmed in an earlier statement from its CEO that some injured passengers had been hospitalized after the crash.
Meanwhile, the captain and first officer aboard the doomed plane were identified. Officials said the plane was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kundar, according to News18 and The Hindustan Times.
