Images from inside the hall at the B J Medical College show the damage as the fireball ripped through the dining room which is understood to have been full of medical students eating lunch
Shocking video obtained by the Mirror shows the tail section of Air India Flight 171 sticking out of the room of a mess hall for student doctors 2km from the airport it took off from seconds earlier. Images from inside the hall at the BJ Medical College show the damage after a fireball ripped through the dining room, which we understand was full of undergraduate medical students eating their lunch.
Abandoned plates can be seen on tables with half-eaten meals on them. There is fire damage apparent in the mess hall and the adjoining kitchen. Parts of the building appear to have collapsed but our images show rescue workers and other members of the public inside the building after the flames were extinguished.
READ MORE: Air India Flight 171 UPDATES as UK-bound plane crashes with over 240 on board
There is no official confirmation of the casualties to the students but we have been told by witnesses on the ground that multiple students were treated at the nearby Civil Hospital Ahmedabad.
The plane, which exploded shortly after take-off, hit the first floor of the building and much of the aircraft appears to be destroyed. The wheels of the Boeing 787-8 can be seen inside the building from our photos, detached from the rest of the aircraft.
The fusilage, sliced in half, can be seen on the first floor of the building. Other video sent from the scene shows a huge fire raging throughout the local area.
Video from outside the building show rescue workers pushing a ladder up to the tail section which looks to be largely intact.
Air India said the flight was departing from Ahmedabad Airport with 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. According to reports from Reuters there were 217 adults and 11 children were on board the flight.
Many passengers and crew are feared dead after the Gatwick-bound plane, which was carrying 53 British nationals, appeared to explode when it crashed shortly after take-off. The airline said 169 passengers are Indian nationals, 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portuguese. Reports from the scene say that more than 100 bodies have been taken to a local hospital.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the crash “devastating”, while his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi said it was “heartbreaking beyond words”. The King is being updated on the incident, Buckingham Palace said.
A crisis team has been stood up by the The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) India and the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
Air India’s chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in a statement: “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.”
He added: “At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
He added: “An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families seeking information.”
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 posted on social media platform X: “We are following reports of a crash of Air India flight #AI171 from Ahmedabad to London.We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC (shortly before 9.09am BST), just seconds after take off.
“The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB.”
It added the signal from the aircraft was lost “less than a minute after take-off”.
Flightradar24 said flight tracking data shows after taking off, the plane reached a maximum altitude of 625ft, which is about 425ft above the airport.