An Air India plane with more than 200 people on board crashed near the airport in India‘s western city of Ahmedabad, the airline and police officials said on Thursday, without specifying whether there were any fatalities.
The plane was headed to London‘s Gatwick airport in the UK, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.
The 242 people included 217 adults and 11 children, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, the airline said.
Read more: Islamic State reactivating fighters, eying comeback in Syria and Iraq
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X.
The crash occurred just after the aircraft took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge cloud of fire rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Video footage circulating on social media purported to show the crash. Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
Flightradar24 also said that it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.
“The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB,” it said.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Indian aviation minister’s office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed it to ensure all support is extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
All relevant agencies are on high alert and coordinated efforts were underway, the aviation minister’s office added.
Ahmedabad is the main city in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. The airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect.
The last fatal plane crash in India involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.