AHMEDABAD: An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick crashed shorty after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday, killing all 242 people on board, Indian media have reported.

Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 aircraft, lost control just minutes after departing.

Eyewitnesses described a fiery descent followed by a massive explosion as the aircraft slammed into a doctors’ hostel located near the airport premises.

Among the deceased are 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese citizens, and 1 Canadian, according to preliminary passenger manifests released to the press. There are no survivors.

Dramatic visuals aired by local broadcasters showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky as fire crews and emergency personnel rushed to the crash site.

The impact leveled the hostel building, reportedly housing junior medical staff from a nearby hospital. Casualties on the ground are feared but have not yet been confirmed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the Ahmedabad plane crash, saying that the incident is “heartbreaking beyond words.”

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

A full-scale investigation is expected to be launched with the involvement of aviation safety agencies and Boeing representatives.