More Than 200 Dead as Air India Jet Crashes After Takeoff in Ahmedabad

By A Staff Reporter

AHMEDABAD, India, June 12 — In what is being termed the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in a decade, more than 200 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday. The London-bound aircraft, carrying 242 people, went down in a densely populated area, striking the doctors' hostel at B.J. Medical College during the city’s lunch hour.

City police chief G.S. Malik confirmed to Reuters that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. Authorities believe all on board perished, though a formal count is pending. “The casualties include passengers as well as those who may have been in the hostel at the time of the crash,” Malik added.

Eyewitnesses described horrifying scenes as the aircraft plunged and exploded into flames upon impact. The plane’s tail was seen lodged atop the building, with wreckage and debris strewn across the vicinity. Emergency responders, working through the day, managed to clear 70-80% of the area by evening.

According to Air India, the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. There were also 11 children and two infants aboard.

This tragic incident marks the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since it entered commercial service in 2011. The aircraft involved had first flown in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014. Aviation tracking service Flightradar24 confirmed the flight trajectory before it disappeared from radar moments after takeoff.

State health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi confirmed that DNA samples were being collected from relatives to aid in the identification of victims. Meanwhile, visuals broadcast across television channels showed the moment the aircraft vanished from the sky, followed by a massive fireball and plume of thick smoke.

Among those mourning the loss were distraught families waiting at Ahmedabad’s government hospital. "My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, we got the news of the crash," said Poonam Patel, a grieving relative.