VIDEO: Black box found at site of India plane crash that killed 265
- Last updated: June 13, 2025 | 17:50
Investigators recovered a black box recorder on Friday from the crash site of a London-bound passenger jet that ploughed into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground.
One man on board the plane, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, miraculously survived the fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.
"Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed.
The nose and front wheel of Air India flight 171 landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said 265 bodies had been counted so far, which suggested that at least 24 people were killed on the ground.
The toll could rise further as more body parts are recovered. "The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed," Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement late on Thursday.
DNA samples will be taken from family members of the dead who live abroad, he said. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the devastated neighbourhood on Friday and was also pictured by survivor Ramesh's bedside.
Ramesh, who suffered burns and other injuries, said: "Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that."
"Within a minute after takeoff, suddenly... it felt like something got stuck... I realised something had happened, and then suddenly the plane's green and white lights turned on." Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would "significantly aid" investigations.
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 injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals."
The crash occurred just after the plane 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 jet of fire rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.
They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39 p.m. (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 said it is aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 6.8% to $199.13 in pre-market trade.
MODI'S HOME STATE
Britain is working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the country's foreign office said in a statement posted on its website.
The Indian aviation minister's office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed it to ensure all support was extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
All relevant agencies were 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.
Ahmedabad airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect. The airport is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate.
"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy of Air India Flight 171," Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the group, posted on X.
"Our hearts go out to the families who have suffered an unimaginable loss. We are working closely with all authorities and extending full support to the families on the ground," he said.
The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.
The airline's Boeing-737 overshot a "table-top" runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.
Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara - a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines - in 2024.
Tata said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.
Agencies