What we know
- Rescuers in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad are searching for bodies in the wreckage of yesterday's Air India passenger jet crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board.
- Of the passengers, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, one was a Canadian national and seven were Portuguese nationals, the airline said.
- The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a dormitory of a nearby medical school shortly after takeoff. It was not clear how many people on the ground were also killed.
- Investigators are also searching for debris that could shed light on what caused the crash. There were no official statements on whether either of the two black boxes had been found.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the only passenger to survive the crash today. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian descent, was traveling with his brother, family members said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits crash site
Crash survivor walked out of a broken emergency exit
Reporting from New Delhi
The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people said he walked out of a broken emergency exit after the aircraft hit a medical college hostel in the city of Ahmedabad.
Ramesh Viswashkumar, who police said was on seat 11A near the emergency exit and managed to escape through the broken hatch, was filmed after Thursday’s crash limping on the street in a blood-stained T-shirt with bruises on his face.
Rescue efforts continue at crash site, no official word on black boxes
Rescuers with sniffer dogs are continuing search efforts at the crash site, where they are still recovering bodies.
There has been no official statement on whether either of the two black boxes have been recovered.
There were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, Air India said in a statement. It said that 241 people were killed and that the survivor was being treated in a hospital.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical hostel near the Ahmedabad airport, and it is unclear how many people on the ground were also killed.
Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat
An Air India flight made an emergency landing in Thailand after receiving an onboard bomb threat.
Air India Flight 379, which left the Thai island of Phuket this morning en route to New Delhi, landed back on the island shortly after takeoff, according to flight tracker Flightradar24. All 156 passengers were escorted from the plane as is standard in emergencies, Reuters reported, citing an Airports of Thailand official.
Hoax bomb threats are common in India, where airports and airlines received about 1,000 last year alone, and they are taken especially seriously given India’s history of bombings and hijackings from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Like other airlines, Air India’s flight schedule has also been affected by Israel’s attack on Iran earlier today, which prompted Iran to close its airspace. The airline said on X that 16 flights were being diverted or returning to their point of origin.
India's Prime Minister Modi visits crash site and hospital
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the crash site in Ahmedabad and met with the sole survivor at a hospital.
Modi visited Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor out of 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport shortly after takeoff yesterday, a video on his official YouTube channel showed. He also met with some of those who were injured when the plane crashed into a medical school dorm.
“The scene of devastation is saddening,” Modi said in a post on X after visiting the crash site. “Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy.”
Modi said he had also met with officials and teams working “tirelessly” in the aftermath.
1 survivor, 241 killed in Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad airport
A plane carrying 242 people crashed near a major international airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff Thursday, killing all but one passenger, who was seen walking away from the crash with bruises on his arms.
The survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, is “doing well” but “psychologically disturbed” by the event, according to the medical director of the Civil Hospital, where he is being treated.
Ramesh told The Hindustan Times that “it all happened so quickly.”
“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” he said.