The police commissioner of the Indian city where a London-bound plane crashed shortly after take-off has said there doesn’t appear to be any survivors from the incident.
Ahmedabad’s Commissioner G.S. Malik told the Associated Press, “It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash.”
He added that “some locals would have also died,” as the plane crashed in a residential area with offices.
“Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, earlier told the outlet that the jet crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time on Thursday, June 12.
Air India confirmed in a post on X that there were 242 passengers and crew onboard the plane, which was headed to London’s Gatwick Airport. They included 169 people from India, 53 from the U.K., one from Canada and seven from Portugal.
Kidwai said 12 of the 242 were crew members.
@OFFICIALHARSHKATARIA/AFPTV/ESN/AFP via Getty
A plume of smoke seen through a window at Ahmedabad Airport
The cause of the crash is not yet known. In their update on X, Air India said the plane was involved in an “accident” and the injured were being taken to the nearest hospitals.
Following the incident, King Charles said in a statement, “My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning. Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones.”
“I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time,” the statement concluded.
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Indian health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda had previously said that “many people” were killed in the crash, per The Guardian.
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