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videos from the area showed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.

India’s CNN News-18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of the hostel, killing many medical students as well.

The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indians, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.

Investigators are prioritising the recovery of the aircraft’s black box, the key to understanding what caused the tragedy.

Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a modern passenger aircraft.

It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011. The plane that crashed yesterday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.

“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X.

The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge fireball can be seen 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.

“My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,” Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.

According to air traffic control at the Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39pm from runway 23. It made 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.

US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.

“If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said.

Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 6.8 percent to $199.13 in pre-market trade.

Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyse cockpit data, India’s CNBC TV18 reported.

Britain was 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 tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were “devastating”, and that he was being kept informed as the situation developed. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles was also being kept updated.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has expressed shock over the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad.

In a message sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, Yunus extended his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

“At this trying hour, our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and their loved ones,” the chief adviser said.

“We stand in solidarity with the people and government of India, and offer our full support in any form.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said he was “saddened” by the plane crash in neighbouring India.

The Tata Group, owner of Air India, will provide Rs 1 crore to the family of each person who lost their life in the plane crash, announced the company’s chairman N Chandrasekaran.

Tata Group will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support, he said.