New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah left for Ahmedabad to take stock of the situation after a London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed moments after taking off on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Shah is scheduled to meet Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and senior officials to discuss the rescue efforts, they said.
Earlier, the home minister spoke to Patel, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and the Ahmedabad Police commissioner to assess the situation.
"Pained beyond words by the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad. Disaster response forces have been quickly rushed to the crash site. Spoke with the Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Home Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi, and Commissioner of Police Ahmedabad to assess the situation," Shah said in a post on X.
Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani is believed to be among the passengers on the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport.
The Boeing aircraft, which could be seen losing altitude quickly, crashed in the Meghaninagar area near the Ahmedabad International Airport around 2 pm.
Air India confirmed that its flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, met with 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, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals," the carrier said on X.
Several of the injured were rushed to the city's civil hospital.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing for miles around in the visuals of the wreckage.
Emergency responders were engaged in rescue, evacuation, and firefighting operations.