Plane crash in Ahmedabad: Air India flight 171 hits medical college hostel after takeoff

On Thursday, June 12, while on its way to the United Kingdom, an Air India flight with 242 passengers crashed shortly after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad. The plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed into the dining area of a medical college residence, while students were still eating.

While there is no current information regarding survivors, the Ahmedabad city police commissioner, G.S. Malik, stated that it appears there are none: “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.” He also added that, as the aircraft crashed into the building, an exact number of the casualties was still being calculated.

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Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad

At least 5 medical students from B.J Medical College were killed and 50 were injured in the crash, according to Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association. He stated that they are still looking out for more people buried in the debris.

The Indian Army has also deployed personnel including doctors and paramedics to assist their civil counterparts in clearing debris from the crash to help the injured.

London Gatwick Airport on the other hand, is working with Air India to set up an information center for relatives of the passengers on the plane crash.

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India and UK's Prime Ministers react to the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad

India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words,” in a social media post in X. He also stated that Ministers and authorities are doing everything they can to help in this situation.

Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister, also posted a statement on social media saying that the images of the airplane which was supposed to arrive to London were "devastating" and that he is currently being updated on the ongoing situation.