A London-bound Air India plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 people. One Indian-origin British passenger miraculously survived. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had rammed into a doctors’ hostel near the airport.

A devastating tragedy struck on Thursday afternoon when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, flight AI171 bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people. One Indian-origin British passenger, however, miraculously survived.

One miracle survivor pulled from wreckage

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik confirmed that only one person, seated in 11A, was found alive amidst the wreckage. He is undergoing treatment and remains in a stable condition.

The survivor has been identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, who was visiting family in Gujarat and returning home to London with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

“There were bodies all around me, pieces of the plane everywhere. Someone grabbed me and put me in an ambulance,” Vishwash told News18, recounting the horror. “I should not be alive.”

He is currently admitted to Civil Hospital, Asarwa, with injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet.

Aircraft crashes into doctors' hostel

The aircraft, which took off at 1:38 PM IST, rammed into a residential building — a doctors’ hostel — situated just outside the airport perimeter, according to preliminary reports.

“After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors’ hostel,” said Jaipal Singh Rathore, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad.

The aircraft was reported to have reached an altitude of only 600–800 feet before it nose-dived and burst into flames, sending thick black smoke into the sky.

Passenger and crew details confirmed

Air India confirmed that there were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board the ill-fated flight.

Breakdown of nationalities:

  • 169 Indian nationals
  • 53 British nationals
  • 7 Portuguese nationals
  • 1 Canadian national

The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced pilot with 8,200 flight hours, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 flight hours.

Soon after takeoff from Runway 23, the cockpit issued a “Mayday” distress call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC), but no further communication followed. The aircraft lost altitude and crashed within minutes of departure.

Rescue operations underway

The Gujarat government has deployed three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 90 personnel, from Gandhinagar to assist in the rescue efforts. Emergency services were quick to reach the crash site and begin recovery.

The Ahmedabad City Police has set up an emergency helpline number for assistance and information related to the crash:

079-25620359

Air India has also activated a dedicated passenger information hotline:

1800-5691-444

Search for black box and investigation

Investigators are now focused on recovering the aircraft’s black box, which includes the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. These are crucial to understanding the sequence of events that led to one of India’s worst aviation disasters in recent memory.

Air India said it is fully cooperating with authorities and has extended condolences to the victims' families, while assuring full medical and logistical support to those affected.