Search Efforts Intensify for Missing and Debris After Air India Crash

• This crash marks the first incident involving Boeing’s Dreamliner model.
• There is only one known survivor from the flight, currently hospitalized.
• Local news outlets indicate that up to 24 additional fatalities may have occurred on the ground.

Rescue teams are actively searching for missing individuals and aircraft debris following a devastating crash of an Air India flight, which collided with a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad, leading to over 260 fatalities—making it one of the worst aviation disasters in a decade.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 passengers on board and was bound for Gatwick Airport near London, had only one survivor following the crash during lunch hour.

Additionally, there have been casualties on the ground, with local news reporting up to 24 deaths; however, Reuters has not confirmed these figures. Officials continue to search for individuals who may still be unaccounted for on the ground.

Emergency responders sifted through the wreckage throughout the night, looking for airplane parts that might provide insight into the crash’s cause shortly after takeoff.

The Hindustan Times reported that one of the aircraft’s black boxes has been located, although Reuters has yet to verify this information and details remain unclear on whether it is the flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder.

Local residents noted that the hostel constructed for medical residents had just been finished a year prior and was not fully occupied at the time of the incident.

“We were at home when we heard a tremendous sound, resembling a large explosion. Then we witnessed thick black smoke covering the entire area,” recounted 63-year-old Nitin Joshi, a long-time resident.

CCTV footage captured the aircraft taking off above residential buildings before disappearing from view, followed by a large fireball in the sky.

Fragments of the plane were scattered across the smoldering hostel, with the aircraft’s tail visible atop the structure.

Air India confirmed that the sole survivor, a British citizen, is currently receiving treatment in the hospital.

The survivor recounted to Indian media how a loud noise erupted shortly after the aircraft, designated Flight AI171, took off.

Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police official, stated on Thursday that the updated death count had surpassed 240, correcting an earlier estimate of 294 that included duplicated body parts.

Among the deceased was Vijay Rupani, the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, the state where Ahmedabad is located.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is from Gujarat, visited the crash site, while Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson arrived shortly afterward.

The company indicated that a thorough investigation would take time. Boeing has announced that a team of specialists is prepared to assist in the inquiry.

This incident marks the first crash of a Dreamliner, a wide-body aircraft that has been in commercial operation since 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

The aircraft involved in this tragedy was delivered to Air India in January 2014, after first flying in 2013, as reported by Flightradar24.

The last fatal aviation accident in India, now the third-largest aviation market globally and the fastest-growing, occurred in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s budget subsidiary.

Air India, once state-owned, was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022 and merged with Vistara—a joint venture with Singapore Airlines—in 2024.