NEW DELHI: The Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to London, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The aircraft was carrying 242 people, including passengers and crew members, the airline confirmed in an official statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).Among those onboard was former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who had checked in to business class.According to information released by Air India, the passenger manifest included:169 Indian nationals53 British nationals7 Portuguese nationals1 Canadian national
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The flight took off at 1.38pm but encountered a catastrophic failure shortly thereafter, leading to the deadly crash.Authorities have now made the full list of passengers available as search and rescue efforts continue at the crash site.
The Air India flight AI171 — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner — crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon, minutes after it left for London’s Gatwick airport. There were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers, two pilots, and 10 cabin crew members.Officials said the aircraft was heavily fueled for the long-haul journey, which likely contributed to the intensity of the post-crash blaze. Emergency services were rushed to the site, including fire tenders, ambulances, and disaster response units.Union home minister Amit Shah has spoken to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, who directed officials to carry out immediate rescue operations and set up a green corridor to transport survivors to hospitals. In a post on X, Patel expressed deep grief and said that all efforts were underway to treat the injured on a “war footing”.Air India, in its initial statement, confirmed the incident and said details were being ascertained. Chairman N Chandrasekaran issued a note expressing “profound sorrow”, and assured full support to the affected families.The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said three teams from Gandhinagar had reached the site, while three more were being sent from Vadodara. Meanwhile, operations at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport remain suspended, with the airport advising passengers to check with airlines before arriving.DGCA officials are expected to launch a formal probe into the crash, alongside technical experts from Boeing. As of now, there is no official word on casualties, but officials indicated that the scale of the crash and fire may have resulted in multiple fatalities.
