An Air India flight bound for London’s Gatwick Airport crashed in a residential area near Ahmedabad’s airport on Thursday afternoon, sparking panic and chaos in the Meghani Nagar locality.
"Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani is believed to be on the Air India flight that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday," an indiatoday.in report said, citing sources.
A confirmation on Vijay Rupani's presence onboard is awaited.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, operating as flight AI171, reportedly carried 232 passengers and 12 crew members, according to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General of the Directorate of Civil Aviation.
Kidwai told The Associated Press that the aircraft crashed into Meghani Nagar five minutes after takeoff at 1:38 pm local time. Emergency teams were immediately activated at the airport.
Visuals from the site showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash zone, drawing attention from residents and emergency responders alike.
Air India confirmed the incident in a brief statement: Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad–London Gatwick, was involved in an incident.
According to the Aviation Safety Network database, this is the first-ever crash involving a Boeing 787 aircraft.
