Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Air India Passenger Aircraft With 242 On Board Crashes In Meghaninagar

Air India plane AI 171 with 242 passengers, heading from Ahmedabad to London, has crashed in the Meghaninagar IGP complex of Ahmedabad city, as per NDTV. The Air India Boeing Dreamliner was a 787 craft.

Air India has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information.

The flight was scheduled to take off at 13:10 IST and land at London's Gatwick Airport at 18:25 BST. "Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off," tweeted the airline. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft," said the tweet.

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad has suspended operations under further notice, said an SVPIA spokesperson.

All roads have been cordoned off after the crash. Three National Disaster Response Force teams, comprising 90 personnel, have been moved from Gandhinagar to the plane crash site. A total of three more teams are being moved from Vadodara, as per NDRF.

There were 230 adults and two infants on board, apart from 12 crew members. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one is a Canadian national and seven are Portuguese nationals.

The injured have been rushed to a hospital, said witnesses to NDTV. At least a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the spot. An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families seeking information, tweeted N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Air India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Minister of Civil Aviation, Rammohan Naidu, and took stock of the Air India flight crash incident in Ahmedabad. Naidu is heading to Ahmedabad, from Vijayawada.

Home Minister Amit Shah has also spoken to the Gujarat Chief Minister, Home Minister and Police Commissioner, and has assured all possible help by the Central Government.

"I am deeply saddened by the accident of the Air India passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad," tweeted Gujarat Chief Minister. "I have instructed the officials to take immediate rescue and relief operations in the accident and to make arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured passengers on a war footing," he added. "I have also instructed to arrange a green corridor to take the injured passengers for treatment and to ensure all the treatment arrangements in the hospital on priority," said the tweet.

(This is a developing story and will be updated shortly).