An Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad and it has claimed the lives of over 20 medical students who were having lunch in their hostel when the aircraft slammed into the building. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport with 242 people on board, went down just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, sending shockwaves across India and beyond.
The flight, AI-171, took off at 1:39 PM IST but issued a Mayday distress call shortly after becoming airborne before losing contact. The flight carried 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The aircraft crashed into a doctors’ hostel at the state-run B.J. Medical College, where students were gathered in the dining area. Rescue teams have pulled out 30 to 35 bodies so far, with many more feared trapped under the wreckage.
بھارتی شہر احمد آباد میں طیارہ گرنے سے اب تک 110 مسافروں کی ہلاکت جبکہ 20 کے قریب میڈیکل یونیورسٹی ہاسٹل کے ڈاکٹر کی موت کی تصدیق کی گئی ہے۔۔!!
طیارے میں 11 بچے بھی سوار تھے pic.twitter.com/zCfjVNZLrD— Irfan Akbar (@majorirfanakbar) June 12, 2025
Among the dead are young medical students who had no warning before the disaster struck. “My son was in the hostel for lunch when the plane crashed,” said Ramila, a mother whose son survived by jumping from the second floor. “He is injured but alive—so many others weren’t as lucky.” Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as thick black smoke billowed from the crash site.
Air India confirmed the aircraft was 11 years old and was operated by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal (8,200 flight hours) and First Officer Clive Kundar (1,100 hours). The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched an investigation, while Boeing shares plummeted 6.8% following the crash—the first involving a Dreamliner since its 2011 debut.
Ahmedabad Airport, operated by the Adani Group, has suspended all flights indefinitely. Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani pledged full support to victims’ families, calling the crash an “unimaginable loss.”
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