At least one passenger reportedly survived Thursday’s India Air crash, which is believed to have killed more than 200 people in the northwest Indian city of Ahmedabad.
A law enforcement official said a British passenger in seat 11A on the London-bound Boeing jet was taken to a hospital still alive, according to the BBC.
A traveler named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was reportedly in that seat. The only survivor identified so far said the plane crash happened quickly.
Ajit Solanki/AP
Rescuers work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” he said.
A cousin of Ramesh’s in England told BBC the crash’s only known survivor so far phoned family to say he was “fine,” but Ramesh couldn’t speak for his brother, who was also on the flight.
Flight AI 171 was reportedly carrying 242 people from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London’s Gatwick Airport when it crashed. The BBC said 169 Indian nationals, 53 U.K citizens, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian were on board the airliner when it hit a medical college less than a minute after leaving the runway.
At least five medical students were killed and 50 more were injured in that building.
Federation of All India Medical Association Vice President Divyansh Singh, whose organization has resident doctors nationwide, said some of the starting medics were critically injured. Others were feared buried under debris.
A local doctor confirmed one survivor from the plane was being treated. That individual, who appeared to be Ramesh, was brought to the same Ahmedabad hospital that reported receiving 186 bodies at that point.
Air India’s parent company said the victims’ families would be compensated roughly $117,000. The airline also pledged to cover medical expenses.
Why the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner failed to gain altitude wasn’t immediately clear. The company’s stock crashed 8% after the widebody jet fell out of the sky. There are no previous reports of crashes involving the Boeing 787.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a statement saying it would lead a team of U.S. investigators traveling to India to assist India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
With News Wire Services
Originally Published: June 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM EDT
