The London-bound Air India flight crashed into a doctors’ hostel near the Ahmedabad Airport shortly after took off on Thursday. As flight AI 171 lost altitude soon after take off, it crashed into a doctors’ hostel of the BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar, when several doctors were having lunch at the hostel mess.
As per reports, there are no survivors from the 242 people on board, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. An unconfirmed number of people on the ground also reportedly died and many more were injured.
As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a mayday Call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC.
The Boeing 787-8 plane then crashed into the doctors’ hostel of the BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar near the airport. The outer walls and windows of the resident doctors’ hostel were damaged in the accident, with debris scattered all around.
Visuals from the hostel show the tail of the plane stuck onto top floor of the building, while other photos show other parts of the aircraft including the engines lodged into the hostel building.
Several walls of the hostel have been completely destroyed. But it seems there is no structural damage to columns and beams, as the building appears to be still standing in place.
In another photo, a massive landing gear of the Boeing 787-8 can be seen hitting the ground floor.
Photos from the dining hall of the hostel have also emerged, showing plates of unfinished food on rows of tables. On the back of the long room, the crashed plane can be seen lying on the floor. As per photos, the kitchen of the hostel was also damaged due to the plane crash.
Some parts of the plane also hit an open space near the hostel building, and several trees were damaged in the fire. The exterior walls of the buildings have turned black due to the fire caused by the crash.
The plane was carrying significant amount of fuel as it was flying to London. While the pilots called Mayday before the crash, they didn’t have time to dump fuel. The plane’s debris are lying on the ground around the hostel, with most of the places catching fire.
Providing an update on the flight that crashed carrying 242 people including 12 crew members onboard, a senior Ahmedabad police officer stated that about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the crash site had been cleared. He also appealed to the public to cooperate for the green corridor for the ambulance.
The #AirIndia flight, which departed from #Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) June 12, 2025
📹 Vijay Soneji pic.twitter.com/ccboJpr23g
“After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the … plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors’ hostel. After a few minutes of the incident, the concerned authorities reached the spot… We have cleared about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the area… We urge all the people to cooperate with us so that we can make a green corridor for the ambulance to go to the hospital,” the senior officer stated.
Efforts are ongoing to ensure a safe and efficient rescue operation with the Gujarat government mobilising three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising 90 personnel, from Gandhinagar to the plane crash site.
The Ahmedabad City Police has issued an emergency number for the police emergency services and to get necessary information related to the plane crash.
“Ahmedabad City Police Emergency Number for Police Emergency Services and necessary information related to the Ahmedabad Plane Crash 07925620359,” Ahmedabad Police stated in a post on X.
The flight operations at the Ahmedabad airport were suspended temporarily following the Air India plane crash, according to an official spokesperson. The flight operations resumed at around 5 PM.
