The flight, operating as AI171, took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 pm with 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board. As per a TOI report quoting Flightradar24 data, the aircraft lost signal at just 625 feet, less than a minute after departure.Flightradar24 wrote on X, “#AI171 departed using the full length of Runway 23 at Ahmedabad. The aircraft backtracked to the end of the runway before beginning its take-off roll.”
State health official Dhananjay Dwivedi said the plane crashed into residential quarters of doctors working at the Civil Hospital and students of BJ Medical College. “Fifty people who were injured are now being treated. All of them are stable,” he added.
Air India confirmed the nationalities of those onboard:
- 169 Indian nationals
- 53 British nationals
- 7 Portuguese nationals
- 1 Canadian national
Former Gujarat Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Rupani was among those who died in the crash.Emergency response teams, including fire services, ambulances, and disaster relief units, reached the site quickly and began rescue operations.