Unconfirmed reports said that former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was among the passengers of the Air India plane that crashed in a locality near the Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday afternoon.
"Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani is believed to be on the Air India flight that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, an indiatoday.in report said, citing sources said. Track Ahmedabad plane crash news live coverage here
An confirmation on Vijay Rupani's presence onboard is awaited.
The Air India plane bound for London's Gatwick Airport, AI171, reportedly had over 240 people on board, including several crew members.
Visuals showed smoke billowing from the crash site near the airport in Ahmedabad.
Air India confirmed that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, “departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft”.
{{/usCountry}}Air India confirmed that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, “departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft”.
{{/usCountry}}Of the total passengers, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals, according to Air India.
The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engined plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Air India in its first statement after the crash, said flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest on http://airindia.com and on our X handle (https://x.com/airindia),” Air India posted on X.
Initial ADS-B data shared by Flightradar24 from flight AI171 showed that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute.
As a result of Air India plane crash incident, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), Ahmedabad, was shut till further notice, SVPIA spokesperson said.