Updated June 24, 2025 at 4:12 PM EDT
Authorities are close to recovering all the bodies after an Air India passenger jet crashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, a city in northwestern India, killing more than 200 people, India's home minister Amit Shah said on Thursday evening.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, was bound for London when it crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday.
Nearly everyone on board was killed except one passenger, a British national of Indian origin who is currently being treated at a local hospital. Shah said he met with the lone survivor but did not provide details about his condition.
He also confirmed that authorities have begun conducting DNA tests on the victims as well as collecting samples from the families of those believed to be on board.
"The plane carried almost [125 thousand] liters of fuel, and because the temperature was so high, there was no chance of saving anyone," Shah said.
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It remains unclear what caused the plane to crash. Casualties will likely also include people injured or killed after the plane, or parts of the plane, smashed into the cafeteria of a hostel for students of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, according to a hospital official who declined to be named because she was not authorized to speak to the media.
India's Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) said on X that 50 medical students had been admitted to the hospital, at least four students were missing and at least two were in critical condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board, as well as Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, will be sending investigators to help investigate the crash.
In a statement, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said he has spoken to Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran about providing assistance.
"A Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau," Ortberg added.
On Thursday, President Trump called the plane crash "terrible" and "horrific," and said that the U.S. is prepared to help.
"I've already told them, anything we can do — it's a big country, a strong country, they'll handle it — I'm sure. But I let them know that anything we can do, we'll be over there immediately," he told reporters at the White House.
What happened
Air India Flight 171 was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. Air India said on X that the flight was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian and seven Portuguese. A government official confirmed that Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of India's Gujarat state, was killed in the crash.
Footage posted by the Press Trust of India showed the plane sinking over a residential quarter and then the sound of a blast, and a ball of fire. The Press Trust shared images of medics rushing casualties on stretchers. The plane crashed just five minutes after taking off, according to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, who spoke to The Associated Press.
Reuters reported that at least 30 bodies had been recovered from a building at the site of the plane crash. Multiple videos shared by residents appeared to show charred bodies and body parts at the site of the crash.
At least 90 people had been brought in, according to a doctor at the trauma center where victims were being treated. The doctor requested anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak to the media.
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, called the crash a "tragedy" that had "stunned and saddened us."
"It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it," he wrote on X.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of the Tata Group that operates Air India, said in a statement that flight AI171 was involved in a "tragic incident." He said the conglomerate was assisting the emergency response teams and providing care and support to those affected.
What we know about the Boeing 787
This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft gave a "Mayday" call, signaling an emergency before it crashed. The 787 was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 are operating globally, according to Boeing.
The New York Times reported in April 2024 that the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating claims made by a whistleblower – a Boeing engineer – who claimed that sections of the 787 Dreamliner were improperly fastened together and could break apart after thousands of trips. At the time, Boeing told the paper that it had "determined that this is not an immediate safety of flight issue."
The last major plane crash in India was in 2020, when a Boeing 737 skidded off a hilltop runway, killing 21 people.
The crash adds to Boeing's woes — its reputation has been battered after two deadly accidents involving its 737 Max 8; one in 2019 when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing all 149 people aboard, and in October 2018, when a Lion Air flight crashed in the sea near the Indonesian capital Jakarta, killing all 189 passengers onboard.
The crash comes just days ahead of the Paris Air Show, where Boeing is expected to host a large pavilion.
Raksha Kumar and Shweta Desai contributed to this story from Mumbai, India.
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