Air India Ahmedabad crash: 'People's passports are strewn around'
Air India's London-bound plane, which crashed on Thursday minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, ploughed into a residential area of the city, hitting a medical student hostel and other buildings.The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 13:39 local time (08:09GMT), was carrying 242 people, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. There were 12 crew.Authorities have confirmed more than 200 people died in the crash - making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India - and warn the toll may rise.Only one passenger is known to have survived.
Fatalities include both those on the flight, which was heading to Gatwick, as well as people on the ground at the crash site.
Live: Latest updates after plane carrying 242 people crashesVerified video shows Air India plane descending moments before impactWatch: BBC correspondent reports from crash siteWhat we know so far about flight AI171At the scene: 'Everyone is running, trying to save as many lives as possible'
Images from the scene show debris scattered across the area. Parts of the plane are embedded in buildings.The area near the airport houses a major medical centre and flight AI171 hit a hostel at a medical college, reportedly killing a number of students and injuring others.
Reporting for the BBC, Sachin Pithva described scenes of chaos at the site, with rescue workers retrieving the mangled remains of those who perished."Thick smoke is still billowing from the building hours after the crash. People's passports are strewn around," he reported.According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft issued a mayday call seconds after take-off but lost contact with Air Traffic Control shortly thereafter, crashing just outside the airport perimeter.The area in Ahmedabad – the biggest city in the western state of Gujarat – where the plane crashed lies just beyond a cantonment zone that abuts the airport's boundary and is directly aligned with its runway.The exact impact site lies within a medical campus with 10 specialised centres.
Gujarat's Additional Chief Secretary for Health confirmed the aircraft struck the students' hostel and staff quarters of Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital."It crashed into the hostel mess and then bounced off on to one of the hostel buildings," Dr Meenkashi Parekh, the dean of the hospital, told the BBC's Jugal Purohit.The crash occurred during lunchtime when many students were in the mess hall, she said.Images show the nose of the plane is stuck in one of the hostel buildings. Photos also show a deserted mess hall, filled with dust and with tables bearing plates of uneaten food."Most of the students escaped.. but the building caught fire and the smoke was extremely thick. So, 10 to 12 students were trapped," she said.She said there is "the possibility of casualty of three students - that is almost confirmed".Dr Parekh also said that a female staff member at a doctors' home had died.
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