A passenger plane belonging to the Indian airline Air India has crashed. The accident occurred in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat.
A post from Air India's verified ID on social media platform X stated that the aircraft was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick Airport.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, head of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, told the Associated Press that there were 232 passengers and 12 crew members on board the aircraft.
Its flight number was AI 171. The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with a capacity of 256 people.
It's believed the plane crashed immediately after takeoff. According to flight tracking website FlightRadar, the aircraft's signal was lost at an altitude of 625 feet, just seconds after lifting off the runway.
The plane crashed outside the airport.
Ahmedabad's Fire Department has announced that firefighting vehicles have already reached the scene.
The manager of Terminal 1 at Ahmedabad Airport told BBC Hindi that they saw smoke coming from outside the airport. Everyone rushed to the scene immediately afterward.
In several photos, fire and smoke can be seen coming from the aircraft.
India's Minister of Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, told the media, "We are on high alert. Rescue teams are heading to the scene."
