An Air India flight to London with 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members, crashed Thursday shortly after takeoff from an airport in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
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The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 people on board, which was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital, had only one survivor after it crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
The flight took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat.
According to Air India, the Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 local time and was carrying 242 passengers and crew members.
"Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals," the airline said.
Air India has expressed condolences to the families of all those affected by this devastating event.
"With profound sorrow, I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event," N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Air India, said in a statement.
The Indian government's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated a formal investigation into the crash.
Of the two black boxes, the one in the rear of the aircraft has been located and safely guarded. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will collect the equipment to analyse the recordings.
The second black box, in the aircraft's front portion, is yet to be found.
A minister in the Indian government has confirmed the killing of former Gujarat chief minister and a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vijay Rupani in Thursday's London-bound Air India flight crash in the western state.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that an investigation team has been dispatched to India following the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171.
Indian multinational conglomerate -- Tata Group, which owns Air India, said it will give a compensation of 10 million rupees (116,854 U.S. dollars) to the families of each person who was killed in the plane crash. ■