The Air India plane, which has 242 people on board, crashed on Thursday near a major international airport in a western Indian city, said the airline and the national government.
Video posted on social media shortly after the crash and verified by NBC News shows thick black smoke feathers rising from a private location south of the airport into the sky south.
The tail of the plane could be seen protruding from the wall of the building in the photograph of the crash site, shared by Indian central police on X. Other images showed rescuers standing next to the burnt wreckage and next to fallen trees near the housing complex.
An airline spokesman carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals, the airline said in a separate statement. “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospital,” he added.
The airline did not provide crew nationality.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers had died on the flight scheduled to depart at 1:10pm local time (3:40am ET).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy “surprised us and saddened us.”
Separately, the country’s civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarap, said in a post on X that he was “shocked and devastated.”
“I personally monitor the situation and direct all aviation and emergency response agencies to take prompt and coordinated action,” he added. “Rescue teams are mobilised and every effort is made to ensure medical assistance and relief assistance is rushed to the site.”
Calling the scene “devastating,” British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said in a statement that he was kept up to date with the situation. Buckingham Palace said Charles III has also been renewed.
According to flight tracking site Flightradar24, the aircraft involved is the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
“We are aware of the initial report and are working to gather more information,” Boeing said in a statement.
After rattling off by a series of bombings and hijackings from the 1970s to the 1990s, plane crash crashes are not common in India, boasting some of the world’s strictest air standards.
This crash caused Boeing Stock to plummet. Boeing Stock fell by more than 8% in pre-market trading.
Air India, a former state-owned airline, was placed under the control of Indian conglomerate Tata Group. The Tata Group said Chairman Natarajanchandrasekaran had the emergency centre to be revitalized for families seeking information.
“Our main focus is to support all the people affected and their families,” he said in a statement posted to X.
This is a developing story. Please check for more updates.
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