More than 200 people have been confirmed dead after Air India Flight AI171 crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, when it went down minutes after departing at 1:38 p.m. local time.
The aircraft reportedly struck a government hospital hostel housing medical students and doctors, causing a massive explosion that was captured on video and widely shared online. The wreckage left a path of destruction and triggered an immediate large-scale emergency response.
Nationalities on Board and Casualties
According to Air India, the flight included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven from Portugal, and one Canadian. Local authorities later confirmed that at least 204 bodies were recovered.
Around 50 medical students were hospitalized, some in critical condition. The Federation of All India Medical Association reported five students remain missing, along with family members of doctors residing in the hostel.
Eyewitnesses and Survivors Share Accounts
Darshna Vaghela, a nearby local politician, described hearing a loud crash before helping rescue trapped residents. “We rescued many doctors from their flats,” she said.
Ramila, a mother of one medical student, recalled her son narrowly surviving by jumping from the second floor during his lunch break. Injured but alive, he was among many rushed to local hospitals.
At Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, family members anxiously searched for loved ones. One man, Poonam Patel, told ANI that his sister-in-law was on the ill-fated flight and he rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.
