(CNN) — An Air India passenger plane with 242 people on board has crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in India’s western city of Ahmedabad.
Images from the scene showed thick black smoke rising up into the sky after the plane crashed in a residential area. Part of the aircraft was pictured resting on top of a building. Other images showed scorched trees and a fire-blackened building with responders hosing down the area.
The city police commissioner told Associated Press that there appeared to be no survivors from the crashed plane. CNN is working to independently confirm the report.
A senior police officer told reporters that the plane had hit a doctors’ hostel, according to Reuters.
The plane was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, where it was due to land at 6.25 p.m. local time (1.25 p.m. ET).
The flight, AI171, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, Air India said in a statement. Of these, 169 were Indian nationals and 53 were British nationals. There were also seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national on board, the airline said.
The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals, it added.
One video captured the moment the aircraft, gaining altitude after just taking off, suddenly began to descend in mid air, before crashing down in a huge plume of fire and smoke.
The plane made a Mayday call to Air Traffic Control shortly after takeoff, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
“But thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft Immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site,” the statement said.
According to aviation tracker FlightRadar24, the plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, departed from Ahmedabad International airport at 1.38 p.m. local time (4.08 a.m. ET). The aircraft’s signal was lost less than a minute later, at an altitude of 625 feet.
The aircraft then started to descend with a vertical speed of -475 feet per minute, FlightRadar24 data showed.
All flights out of Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport have been suspended until further notice following the incident, according to a spokesperson for the airport.
“Passengers are advised to check with their respective airlines for the latest updates before proceeding to the airport. We request your cooperation and patience as authorities manage this evolving situation,” the spokesperson said.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the plane crash had “stunned and saddened” the country. He described the incident as “heartbreaking beyond words,” adding that he was in touch with the authorities involved in the disaster.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Air India, said that Air India Flight AI171 had been involved in a “tragic accident.”
He added, “We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the scenes as “devastating,” and said he is “being kept updated as the situation develops.” He added that his “thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”
Meanwhile British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the UK House of Commons: “This morning, we know that British nationals were on board. And Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that the (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) is working urgently with local authorities to support British nationals and their families, and has stood up a crisis team in both Delhi and in London.”
The UK and India have strong cultural and historic ties and a complicated history dating back to Britain’s colonial era. The UK has a large Indian diaspora – according to data from the British government, in 2021, 1.9 million people or 3.1% of the country’s population identified as having Indian ethnicity.
Thursday’s crash marks the first involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since the aircraft first entered into service in 2011, according to Boeing’s Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents.
According to Boeing, there are over 1,175 Dreamliners in service, which account for 2,100 flights each day.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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