‘Heartbreaking beyond words’: Air India plane crashes into doctors’ housing shortly after take-off

AHMEDABAD: At least 290 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday (Jun 12) in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

At least one person is known to have survived, police said, and the man told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after take-off.

The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital.

Police chief Malik said earlier that the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground.

Federal minister CR Patil said the dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.

Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer, said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital.

“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online.

“It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed.

“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,” he said. “Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”

He said that his brother Ajay was seated in a different row on the plane. “He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said.