An Air India passenger plane bound for London’s Gatwick tragically crashed, claiming the lives of hundreds. Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad.
In a post on X, the country’s flagship carrier said that Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick had been “involved in an incident” and that it was “ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”
Twenty-four hours after the incident, more information continues to leak out in the final moments that would claim several lives and leave multiple families devastated.
India’s aviation regulator said the aircraft gave a mayday call to air traffic control moments before things went terribly wrong.
The captain reportedly called out on his radio: “Mayday […] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift,” per Unilad.
There was no response from the plane after that.
It’s believed that the pair of pilots then attempted to get control of the plane as it lost altitude.
According to the airline, 242 passengers and crew members were on board. Air India added: “Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”
One Person Survived Air India Tragedy
A devastating air tragedy unfolded in India on Thursday, as an Air India flight en route to London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
Initial reports from various news outlets and officials confirmed a devastating loss of life, with no survivors.
That was not entirely true.
Amid the grim recovery efforts and the somber news of widespread casualties, reports emerged that one individual, Ramesh Viswashkumar, miraculously survived that crash.
Ramesh is marked against seat 11J, though his boarding pass says 11A on the Air India flight. Many reports stated that he jumped out prior to the crash. In reality, when the plane broke apart, he was likely thrown out, which saved his life.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” revealed Viswash to the media, and Ahmedabad CP Gyanesh Singh also confirmed the same.
