All 242 people on board Flight AI171, operated by Air India, are presumed dead after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner erupted into flames moments after taking off around 1:38 p.m. local time.
Police officials reported charred bodies — many still trapped in their seatbelts — being wheeled into Ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s trauma ward. Authorities also warned that nearby residents may also have perished when the jet slammed into a doctors’ hostel in the Meghani Nagar district.
The flight was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport with 217 adults, 11 children and two infants. This marks the first fatal accident for Boeing’s flagship Dreamliner series since its 2011 debut.
Rapid response teams have recovered more than 100 bodies from the wreckage as smoke still billows. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, joined by Boeing, GE Aerospace and international safety experts, pored over flight data to determine the cause.
