Air India flight crashes in Gujarat shortly after takeoff; 204 dead

An Air India flight en route to London crashed near Ahmedabad’s Meghani area shortly after takeoff on Thursday.

204 passengers have been reported dead.

The accident has triggered widespread concern and emergency responses.

The aircraft, a Boeing Dreamliner, was carrying 242 passengers.

Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani was reportedly among the passengers. His condition has not been revealed yet.

Among the passengers, 169 are Indian citizens and 53 are British. The passenger list also has 7 Portuguese citizens and one Canadian citizen.

One Malayali nurse - Ranjitha Gopakumar - was also among the deceased, said Pathanamthitta district collector. She was working as a nurse in London and had returned to India to join government service. She was going to London after taking leave from her job. She has two children studying in classes 7 and 10.

The Air India flight is 11 years old, confirmed the airline.

Eyewitness footage shared on social media shows thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash site, which is located in a densely populated neighborhood close to the airport. Local residents reportedly rushed in to assist rescue teams before authorities arrived.

The airline confirmed the incident in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025,” adding that teams are still working to confirm the full details.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has left Surat for Ahmedabad to assess the situation on the ground. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken with Patel regarding the crash and assured full support from the central government, according to an IANS report.

Further information, including the cause of the crash, is still awaited as rescue operations continue.