Grief and shock gripped India on Friday as the death toll from Thursday’s devastating crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner rose to 265, making it one of the country’s worst aviation disasters in recent years. The London-bound Flight AI171 plummeted into a densely populated neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, shortly after takeoff, killing nearly all passengers and crew, along with dozens on the ground.
Authorities confirmed that the aircraft, carrying 242 people on board, including 12 crew members, crashed into a residential complex housing medical staff and students, moments after issuing a distress signal. The charred fuselage tore through a hostel and a canteen, setting off fires and trapping victims beneath rubble.
Scene of Devastation
Emergency workers, aided by sniffer dogs, spent the early hours of Friday combing through the crash site in the Mahalati area — a zone heavily populated by healthcare workers and students. Rescuers described a “scene of carnage,” with parts of the plane embedded in buildings and bodies strewn across the debris field.
“The tail section was sticking out of the second floor of a hostel,” said an eyewitness, while others recalled how the nose of the aircraft crashed into a student canteen, crushing several people having lunch at the time.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai confirmed that 265 bodies had been recovered — including at least 24 civilians killed on the ground — but warned that the final toll may rise as body parts are still being retrieved. DNA identification has been initiated, and authorities have urged relatives to provide samples for verification.
A Sole Survivor
In a miracle amid the devastation, a single passenger survived. He was identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian descent. He is currently hospitalized and in stable condition.
> “He said he had no idea how he made it out alive,” his brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, told reporters from Leicester in the UK. “We are beyond grateful, but our hearts are with those who didn’t survive.”
The passenger manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and crew members. Families from abroad have begun arriving in Ahmedabad to identify their loved ones.
Heartbreak and Last Words
At an emergency centre set up near the crash site, distraught relatives gathered to seek information and submit DNA samples. Many had last spoken with their family members just before takeoff.
> “He called to say everything was fine, and they had boarded safely. That was the last we heard,” said Ashfaque Nanabawa, whose cousin Akeel was on the flight with his wife and three-year-old daughter.
One woman, too overwhelmed to give her name, said her son-in-law had died, but her daughter was still unaware.
> “I can’t tell her. Someone else must break the news. She doesn’t know,” she said through tears.
Official Response
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the disaster site on Friday and offered condolences to the victims' families. He described the tragedy as “heartbreaking beyond words.”
Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that DNA matching would determine the final death toll, and said that bereaved families abroad had already been contacted.
The Indian government has launched an official investigation, and aviation regulators are combing through black box data recovered from the crash site.
Crash Timeline and Possible Causes
Flight AI171 took off around noon local time from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, bound for London Gatwick. Witnesses said the plane had barely reached 100 meters in altitude before issuing a “mayday” and nosediving into the urban district less than a minute after takeoff.
Aviation experts have been cautious in speculating about the cause, though one possibility under review is a dual engine failure, possibly triggered by a bird strike, which has historically caused mid-air disasters during low-altitude flight.
> “Modern jets like the Boeing 787 can operate on one engine. For both to fail simultaneously, a large flock of birds or catastrophic systems failure is likely,” said Dr. Jason Knight, a fluid mechanics expert from the University of Portsmouth.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has confirmed the crash occurred shortly after a mayday call but has withheld further comment pending a full investigation.
Global Reactions and Support
The United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) have dispatched teams to assist their Indian counterparts.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing expressed its condolences and said it was in direct contact with Air India to provide technical support. A company spokesperson noted this is the first fatal crash involving a 787 Dreamliner, a plane that has been in commercial service since 2011.
Air India’s parent company, the Tata Group, announced a compensation package of 10 million rupees ($117,000) for each family of the deceased, along with medical coverage for the injured.
India, now the fourth-largest aviation market in the world, has been hailed for the rapid expansion of its airline sector. The crash comes amid that rapid growth, a sobering reminder of the risks that come with increased air traffic.
The tragedy also revives painful memories of past aviation disasters, including the 1996 mid-air collision near New Delhi that killed 349, and the 2010 Air India Express crash in Mangalore, which claimed 158 lives.
As families begin to mourn their loved ones, India’s skies are again shadowed by tragedy — and a nation is left searching for answers.
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