More than 240 believed dead following Air India crash in Ahmedabad, officials say

Officials say there are no known survivors after an Air India plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad.

Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane went down in a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” Police Commissioner G.S. Malik tells The Associated Press.

“As the plane has fallen in a residential area which also had offices, some locals would have also died,” he adds. “Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained.”

Indian television news channels report that the plane crashed on top of the dining area of a medical college hostel and visuals show a portion of the aircraft atop the building. It is unclear if any medical students were present inside the building at the time of the crash.

Modi calls the crash “heartbreaking beyond words.”

“In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected,” he says in a social media post.

“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says in a statement.