BY Agencies
Agartala, 12th June 2025: There appear to be no survivors from a Gatwick Airport-bound plane carrying 53 British nationals which crashed shortly after take-off in India, a police commissioner has said.
Ahmedabad police commissioner Gyanendra Singh Malik told the Associated Press that “some locals would also have died” in the crash on Thursday.A video of the incident circulating online shows the Air India aircraft, which was carrying more than 240 people, flying over a residential area before crashing, creating what appears to be a huge fireball followed by large plumes of black smoke.
Images of the aftermath of the crash showed parts of the plane embedded into a residential building as firefighters continued to tackle the smoke.Pieces of the aircraft’s landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the building.
Air India owner, Tata Sons, said it would also cover the medical expenses of those injured after the plane crash at Ahmedabad airport.
In a statement posted on X, the chair of the group Natarajan Chandrasekaran said:
We are deeply anguished by the tragic event involving Air India flight 171. No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured. Tata Group will provide ₹1 crore to the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy.
We will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support.
Additionally, we will provide support in the building up of the B J Medical’s hostel.
We remain steadfast in standing with the affected families and communities during this unimaginable time.
According to the PA news agency, the Tata Sons have said they will offer about £86,000 to the families of each person who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash.
The plane was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a residential area near the airport, Reuters reported.
More than 100 bodies, most of them badly charred, had been brought to the local government hospital for autopsy, police said.
“The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel … we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters.
Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the building into which it crashed, photographs and videos from the area showed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.
