In one of the deadliest aviation disasters in over a decade, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London crashed just 33 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon, killing more than 260 people, including passengers and individuals on the ground.
Flight AI171, carrying 242 people—230 passengers and 12 crew—plunged into the doctors’ hostel of BJ Medical College in the densely populated Meghani Nagar area during lunch hour. The impact caused a massive fireball, flattening multiple buildings and igniting surrounding structures. Rescue and fire teams, including over 150 CRPF personnel, worked into the night to recover bodies and search for any signs of life.
Only one passenger, 40-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, survived. Seated at 11A next to an emergency exit, he described waking up amidst wreckage and running from the crash site before being taken to a hospital. His brother Ajay, who was traveling with him, remains missing.
Authorities revised the initial death toll from 294 to 265, accounting for duplicate body part counts. The dead include former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and several medical students dining in the hostel. Officials have asked families to submit DNA samples to aid victim identification.
According to Air Traffic Control, the aircraft took off at 1:39 p.m. IST and issued a Mayday call before contact was lost. Preliminary data shows the aircraft reached 625 feet at 174 knots, descending abnormally with landing gear still deployed—raising speculation of severe mechanical failure or power loss.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, with 8,200 flying hours, and co-pilot Clive Kundar, with 1,100 hours, were at the controls. Both perished in the crash.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words” and is scheduled to visit the site. Home Minister Amit Shah described the devastation as “unimaginable,” noting the aircraft was carrying 125,000 litres of fuel, further reducing survival chances.
The incident marks the first-ever fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011. The aircraft involved was delivered to Air India in 2014.
Air India and its parent Tata Group have pledged ₹1 crore in compensation for each deceased passenger’s family. Boeing and GE Aerospace are dispatching teams to assist in the investigation, while the U.S. FAA and NTSB, along with the British and Canadian governments, are coordinating with Indian authorities.
As charred debris is cleared and the formal investigation begins, the tragedy has shaken global aviation and left hundreds of families mourning their loved ones.
