A serious plane crash occurred near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat State (India), when a passenger plane of Air India believed to be carrying 242 people crashed in a densely populated area of Meghani Nagar.
The plane crashed just a few minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport. Witness at the scene said they saw thick columns of smoke rising from the crash site, which could be observed from quite a distance.
Emergency rescue forces, including fire teams and disaster response units, quickly arrived at the scene and deployed rescue work. The entire area around the accident scene has been blocked off to serve rescue work.
In a statement, Air India said AI171 flight from Ahmedabad (India) to London Gatwick (UK) "suffered an incident". The crashed plane was a Boeing Dreamliner 787, with a capacity of 300 passengers.
Currently, authorities have not confirmed the cause of the accident. Information about casualties or survivors is still being updated as rescue activities continue at the scene.
