241 bodies have been found in India's biggest plane crash in decades. An Air India flight carrying 230 passengers and 12 employees from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick Airport reached Bajarin after taking off from the runway. One passenger of the plane was found alive, while some students of the hostel died and some were injured.

A Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft bearing the VT-ANB 'registration' of flight number AI-171 crashed into a hostel building and broke into two pieces. The front part of the plane fell to the ground and caught fire. The last part is stuck in the building. The plane carried 125,000 liters of fuel for the 10-hour flight.

The students were having lunch in the hostel of BJ Medical College when the plane crashed. Apart from the passengers, staff and crew members on the plane, there are no official details on how many people were injured when the plane crashed into the hostel. 

N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, which owns Air India, said that the cause of the accident had not been ascertained till evening. He informed that the families of those who lost their lives in the ship accident will be provided with 1 crore Indian rupees as relief. He also said that he will bear the treatment expenses of all the injured.

According to 'FlightRadar 24', an online portal for 'live tracking' of aircraft around the world, the signal of the aircraft was lost within a minute of take off. The ship crashed as soon as it reached a height of 625 feet. The pilot even called air traffic control 'mayday'. The Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority of India said that although Air Traffic Control responded immediately, there was no response. A 'Mayday' shout is a phrase used by an aircraft in distress to call for help.

The plane was being flown by pilot Sumit Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder. Savarwal has 8,200 hours of flying experience and Kunder has 1,100 hours of flying experience, according to the Indian media citing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India. According to Air India, there were 242 passengers in the plane that crashed. There were 12 'cabin cr' members and 230 passengers including 2 pilots. 169 of them are Indians. Similarly, Air India said that there are 53 passengers from the UK, 7 passengers from Portugal and 1 passenger from Canada.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik has informed that 241 people have died in the plane crash till evening. Police Commissioner Malik told BBC Gujarati Seva, "There may be some survivors but so far we have collected 241 bodies."

British citizen Vishwaskumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British citizen who escaped the plane safely, said in a conversation with Hindustan Times that he had come to India for a few days to visit his family and was returning from the accident. He was returning to UK with his brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh. He said, "Within 30 seconds of take-off, there was a loud noise, I fainted, the plane crashed, everything was destroyed in an instant."

According to Indian media, Biswas is being treated at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He was sitting in seat number 11 'A' and got injuries on his chest, eyes and legs. His brother Ajay was sitting in a different line. It is not yet known what the condition of the brother is. He kept the boarding pass with him and told about the situation after the accident, he says, 'When I woke up, I saw dead bodies around, there were pieces of the ship everywhere. I got up and ran away. Just then, someone grabbed me and put me in an ambulance and took me to the hospital.' On August 7, 2020, an Air India plane crashed while landing at the Calicut International Airport in Kerala, killing 18 people and leaving 172 people unharmed.

About 3 years ago, the Indian flag carrier Air India was owned by the Tata Group. In January 2022, the Government of India formally transferred the ownership of Air India to India's largest industrial house, the Tata Group.

After about 69 years, the ownership of Air India has returned to the hands of Tata. The government had decided to privatize Air India, which was running at a loss of Rs 70,000 crore. Accordingly, 100% stake was sold to Tata in October 2021.

According to the Aviation Safety Network database, no fatal accidents related to the Dreamliner have been recorded to date. According to Boeing's April 2025 annual accident summary, no 787 Dreamlines have been destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair, known in the aviation industry as "hull losses." Dreamliner had some problems in the past as well due to which passengers were also injured.

Last November, a 787 flight of Chile's LATAM Airlines went down suddenly while on cruise, seriously injuring two passengers. From time to time, 'whistle-blowers' have raised serious questions about the safety of the Dreamliner. The US Federal Aviation Administration said in April 2024 that a Boeing engineer was looking into whistle-blowers' claims that parts of the 787 Dreamliner were not properly assembled.

In a statement on Thursday, Boeing said it was working to gather more information about the Air India crash. Boeing shares fell 5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange after the plane crash.

Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani died in an accident on Thursday. Rupani's death was confirmed by Union Minister CR Patil. Rupani was going to London to meet his wife and daughter.

BJP's senior leader Sunil Jakhar expressed grief over Rupani's death and said, 'Rupaniji's contribution as the Chief Minister of Gujarat will always be remembered. He was a humble, sensitive and down-to-earth leader.

He also says that Gujarat has lost a great leader. Rupani was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021. Before that, he was a minister in the Gujarat government. He was a Rajya Sabha member from 2006 to 2012. Rupani was recently working as BJP's Punjab in-charge. 

India's biggest plane crash

- 22 May 2010 : Air India's Dubai-Mangalore flight crashed during overshoot at Mangalore airport, killing 158, 8 people rescued alive.

- 17 July 2000 : Alliance Air plane crashed in a residential area of ​​Patna, killing 5 people on the ground along with 55 passengers

- 12 November 1996 : Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakhstan Airlines collided in Haryana 

349 deaths 

- 26 April 1993 : Indian Airlines plane crashes in Aurangabad, 55 dead,  66 injured

- 14 February 1990 : Indian Airlines plane crashes while landing at Bangalore airport, 92 people die

- 16 August 1991 : Indian Airlines plane crashes in Imphal due to bad weather

- 19 October 1988 : 133 people died when an Indian Airlines plane crashed at Ahmedabad airport.

- 22 June 1982 : Air India plane crashes in Mumbai 17 dead and 94 survive 

- 1 January 1978 : 213 people died in an Air India plane crash on Bandra beach in Mumbai

- 12 October 1973 : 48 people died and 17 were injured when an Indian Airlines plane crashed at Delhi airport

- 14 June 1972 : 82 people died when a Japan Airlines plane crashed near Delhi airport