Devastating footage of incident showing on social media
Seven Portuguese are believed to be among victims of a devastating plane crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad today.
Early reports stressed there are “still no indications as to whether they were any fatalities among the more than 200 people on board” – but footage uploaded onto social media shows the plane coming down to land, and a massive fireball then billowing up.
It has since been officially acknowledged that there are some survivors (certainly one). It is unclear how many (if more than one), and how badly they are injured.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had just taken off, bound for London Gatwick.
On board there are understood to have been 169 Indians, 53 Britons, the seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
Air India wrote over social media that “Flight AI171, operating between Ahmedabad and London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. We are currently working out the details.”
Gatwick Airport has also confirmed that flight AI171 was due to land in London at 18:25.
Flightradar says it received the last signal from the plane a few seconds after take-off.
The Indian aviation minister says that the country is “on high alert” and that “rescue teams have been mobilised (…) I am personally monitoring the situation and have instructed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” he told reporters. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the families and loved ones of all those affected.”
The Telegraph updated initial reports with the information that the plane crashed into a hostel for doctors – and part of it at least remains intact, sticking out of the building.
With thick black smoke billowing from the crash site, people have been seen “pulled from the wreckage and taken away in ambulances”, said the paper, adding that the plane gave a ‘mayday’ call and “then went silent”.
“India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people”, the Telegraph recalls.
On today’s flight, 242 people were on board: 230 of them passengers, and 12 crew members.
Among the passengers, there were 11 children.
Boeing shares have “fallen sharply” with this awful news. The company has been involved in a series of incidents in recent years, including fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 – but this is the first time one of its 787 aircraft has crashed in this way. The model, launched 14 years ago, has been praised in the past by the aircraft manufacturer. The Dreamliner recently reached the milestone of carrying one billion passengers.
According to air safety expert Marco Chan, the plane crashed in stable, clear weather conditions. “There were no clouds or significant meteorological phenomena, and there were no indications of wind shear, storms or other adverse conditions that could have contributed to the incident,” he told reporters.
Updates: According to official sources the Portuguese nationals were “dual nationals”, meaning very possibly Indians who emigrated to Portugal. This may also be the case with the other non-Indian passengers. All these details will come clear over the next few hours/ days as investigators begin the task of working out exactly what went wrong so quickly after the plane took off.
