Police say 'no survivors' on Air India flight bound for UK with 242 onboard

Police have said there appear to be 'no survivors' from an Air India flight that crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad that was heading to Gatwick Airport in the UK.

242 people had been on board the plane and Police Commissioner G.S. Malik told AP: "It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash."

He said that since the flight had crashed in a residential area with homes and offices 'some locals would have also died' and they are working on getting exact casualty figures from the disaster.

Of the 242 passengers and crew on board the plane, Air India says that there were 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian.

Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, director general of India’s directorate of civil aviation, said the crash occurred at 1:38pm local time (9:08am BST), and authorities have also released a full list of the passengers on board the plane.

The plane crashed into a residential area (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, said that the crash was 'a very tragic accident' and said that full details on how many people had died in the disaster would take more time.

He said: "The rescue operations are on. We need to wait a little more time for exact details to be put out. We have lost a lot of people. We extend our deepest condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones."

Air India's chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the crash was a 'tragic accident' and a 'devastating event', with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashing into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad.

In a statement, Air India said: "Flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off'.

"The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals."

Emergency services are on the scene of the crash, as the 787 hit a medical college hostel (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Footage of the plane showed it flying over the residential area in Ahmedabad before crashing and producing a giant fireball followed by a huge amount of smoke.

Pieces of the aircraft could also be seen embedded in the building.

This is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed, and the company said in a statement: ""We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected."

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.

"I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time."