An India airline carrying 242 passengers and crew en route to the United Kingdom from India has crashed in an area near the Ahmedabad airport.
According to the airline, the Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed moment after taking off on Thursday.
“The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the airline said in a statement posted on social media. “Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”
Daily Intel Newspaper could not independently confirm if there were any casualty.
The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane “fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter,” immediately after it departed from the airport.
“Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site,” the Directorate General said in the statement.
The Indian Civil Aviation Minister said he has “directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” to respond to the crash.
“Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” the minister added.
The airline however added that it was yet to “ascertaining the details” of the incident.
