Air India said that the 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound passenger plane that crashed on Thursday included 169 Indian passengers, as well as British, Canadian, and Portuguese nationals.
“The flight… was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft”, it said in a statement. Among the 230 passengers, “169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals”, it said.
“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,” it said, adding that “Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called scenes of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad “devastating”, adding, “My thoughts are with the passengers and their families”.
“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating. My thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time,” Starmer said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office.
Air India says passengers on the crashed plane included:
🇮🇳169 Indians
🇬🇧53 British
🇵🇹7 Portuguese
🇨🇦1 CanadianAir India said that the 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound passenger plane that crashed on Thursday included 169 Indian passengers, as well as… pic.twitter.com/m5Roowre6J
— EurAsian Times (@THEEURASIATIMES) June 12, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he was shocked by the crash of a London-bound passenger plane with 242 people on board and offered his support to those affected.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” Modi said in a message posted on the social media site X after the Air India flight crashed near the city in western India.
“In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,” he said, adding he had “been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected”.
Air India Plane Crash in Ahmedabad
A London-bound passenger plane crashed Thursday in India’s western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviation officials said in what the airline called a “tragic accident”.
Air India’s flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff, officials said.
India’s civil aviation authority said “there were 242 people on board,” including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.
The Air India plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. The civil aviation authority said the plane crashed outside the airport perimeter.
Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to approximately eight million people, and its busy airport is situated in a densely populated residential area.
Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu directed “all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.”
“Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” he added.
“My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
Air India confirmed the crash.
“With profound sorrow, I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today,” Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” said the airline chairman.
An emergency centre has been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information, he added.
India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.
In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.
Decades earlier, an Air India Boeing 747 flying from Montreal to London in June 1985 crashed into the sea off Ireland with 329 people on board and leaving no survivors. An Indian commission determined that militant Sikhs had planted a bomb in baggage being carried by the plane.
Via: Agence France-Presse
