伦敦和德里-空气印度当地官员和航空公司表示，周四，一架载有230名乘客和12名机组人员的客机在飞往英国的途中，起飞后不久撞上了一座建筑物，造成246人死亡，至少有一名乘客幸存。
“该航班于13:38从艾哈迈达巴德起飞，载有242名乘客和机组人员，是波音787-8飞机，”该航空公司在一份声明发布在社交媒体上。其中，169人是印度国民，53人是英国国民，1人是加拿大国民，7人是葡萄牙国民
据医院官员称，遇难者包括241名乘客和机组人员以及五名医学院学生，他们都在飞机坠毁的医学院和医院内。医院官员说，大楼内的许多人受伤，有些人伤势严重，正在接受治疗。
艾哈迈达巴德的平民医院向美国广播公司证实，印度航空公司失事航班上的一名乘客Vishwaskumar Ramesh还活着，正在医院接受治疗。
Vishwaskumar的兄弟Nayankumar Ramesh说，他的兄弟幸存下来是一个“奇迹”，但他“担心”他的另一个兄弟也在船上。
“他说，‘我们的飞机坠毁了，我不知道我哥哥在哪里。我没看到其他乘客。“我不知道我是怎么活着的，我是怎么逃出飞机的，”纳扬库马尔·拉梅什告诉美国广播公司新闻，他的兄弟从飞机上逃走了。刚刚听到坠机的消息，我现在害怕坐飞机，甚至害怕呆在飞机上。"
官员早些时候表示，预计没有幸存者。据印度内政部长阿米特·沙阿称，找回遇难者遗体的过程已接近完成，遇难者家属的DNA图谱将很快完成。
Shah说，飞机内大约有125，000升燃料，温度如此之高，以至于没有机会营救乘客。
这架波音787-8梦想飞机在印度古吉拉特邦艾哈迈达巴德机场附近的梅干那加尔地区坠毁，该市警察局长G.S .马利克周四表示。波音公司的梦想飞机此前从未卷入乘客死亡的事故中。根据航空分析公司Cirium的数据，这架飞机的飞行时间超过41，000小时，这被认为是这架飞机的平均飞行时间。
“我们向印度航空171航班乘客和机组人员的亲人以及艾哈迈达巴德的所有受影响者致以最深切的慰问。我已经与印度航空公司董事长钱德拉塞卡兰(N. Chandrasekaran)进行了交谈，以提供我们的全力支持，波音团队随时准备支持印度飞机事故调查局领导的调查，”波音公司总裁兼首席执行官凯利·奥特伯格(Kelly Ortberg)在一份声明中说。
印度民航总局表示，飞机在离开机场后立即“坠落在机场外围的地面上”。该网站的视频似乎显示，飞机消失在林木线以下，几秒钟后，一个火球和一股浓厚的灰色烟雾随之而来。
该总局在声明中称，“事故现场冒出了浓重的黑烟”。
印度航空总局补充说，机长有8200小时的经验，副驾驶有1100小时的飞行经验。
印度中央工业安全部队发布的照片从坠机现场，其中似乎包括平民和紧急救援人员的工作，以扑灭燃烧的残骸。一张照片显示受损的飞机尾部部分停在一个建筑的洞里。
印度民航部长Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu表示，他已“指示所有航空和应急机构采取迅速协调的行动”应对坠机事件。
“救援队已经动员起来，正在尽一切努力确保医疗援助和救济支持被送往现场，”部长补充说。
飞机发动机制造商GE Aerospace在一份声明中表示，他们也启动了应急小组，并“准备支持我们的客户和调查。”
官员们表示，事故发生后，当地州长Bhupendra Patel与印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)进行了交谈，以协调他们的应急反应。帕特尔说，他下令建立一条所谓的“绿色走廊”，供急救车辆在坠机现场和当地医院之间穿行。
莫迪在一份声明中证实，他一直与当地官员保持联系。
“艾哈迈达巴德的悲剧让我们震惊和悲伤，”他在2004年说一份声明在社交媒体上。“令人心碎，难以言表。在这悲伤的时刻，我的思绪与受其影响的每一个人同在。”
该航空公司最初于2005年宣布了坠机事件一份声明在社交媒体上，称该航班“卷入了一起事件”，并补充说正在“查明事件的细节”。该航空公司更新了其社交媒体个人资料，以显示全黑的个人资料图片。
印度航空公司还宣布的它将组织两个救援航班，分别从德里和孟买飞往艾哈迈达巴德，运送乘客和印度航空公司员工的亲属。
拥有印度航空公司的印度跨国企业集团塔塔集团表示，他们将向在₹1·克罗尔坠机事件中丧生的每个人的家属提供(约11.6万美元)，并将支付受伤人员的医疗费用。
该航班计划从艾哈迈达巴德机场飞往伦敦盖特威克机场，该机场的官方名称是萨达尔·瓦拉布亥·帕特尔国际机场。
它原定于当地时间上午9点50分起飞，计划于当地时间下午18点25分抵达伦敦。盖特威克机场一份声明确认了预定到达时间。
英国首相基尔·斯塔默说，他正在了解艾哈迈达巴德局势的最新情况，并补充说，“在这个非常痛苦的时刻，他的思想与乘客和他们的家人在一起。”
“一架载有许多英国公民的飞往伦敦的飞机在印度城市艾哈迈达巴德坠毁的场景令人震惊，”斯塔默在一份声明.
国务卿马尔科·卢比奥在一份声明中说，他“听到悲惨的飞机坠毁的消息感到心碎”，并将“与紧急救援人员站在一起，努力帮助那些受影响的人。”
巴基斯坦总理谢巴兹·谢里夫也回答他说，他向“为这一巨大损失感到悲痛的受害者家属”表示哀悼
唐纳德·特朗普总统告诉记者，他在坠机事件发生后与莫迪进行了交谈，并在此期间向他提供了支持。
“飞机失事太可怕了，我已经告诉他们，我们能做的任何事情，这是一个强大的国家，他们会处理好的。特朗普周四在白宫的一次活动中说:“我让他们知道我们可以做的任何事情，我们会立即过去。”“可怕的坠机事件，看起来大部分都不见了，他们实际上也许有几个幸存者，只是听说。没人知道那会是什么。我给了他们一些提示，也许看看这个或那个。我看到了飞机，看起来它飞得很好，看起来不像是爆炸，看起来像是引擎失去了动力。可怕的坠机事件，航空史上最糟糕的事件之一。”
美国国家运输安全委员会将带领一个美国调查小组前往印度，协助调查此次坠机事件。
关于调查的所有信息将由印度政府提供。
Air India jet crash kills 246 people, with at least 1 passenger surviving: Officials
LONDON and DELHI -- An AirIndiaairliner carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members en route to the United Kingdom crashed into a building shortly after takeoff on Thursday, leaving 246 dead and at least one surviving passenger, local officials and the airline said.
"The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft," the airline said ina statementposted on social media. "Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals."
The victims include 241 passengers and crew members as well as five medical students who were inside the medical college and hospital the aircraft crashed into, according to hospital officials. Many others inside the building were injured -- some seriously -- and are receiving treatment, hospital officials said.
The Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad confirmed to ABC News that Vishwaskumar Ramesh, one of the passengers on the downed Air India flight, is alive and hospitalized there.
Vishwaskumar's brother, Nayankumar Ramesh, said it is a "miracle" his brother survived, but is "worried" about his other brother who was also on board.
"He said, 'Our plane's crashed, I don't know where my brother is. I don't see any other passengers. I don't know how I'm alive, how I exited the plane," Nayankumar Ramesh told ABC News about his brother's escape from the plane. "Just hearing about the crash, I'm scared to fly now, to even stay on a plane now."
Officials earlier said no survivors had been expected in the crash. The process of retrieving the bodies of victims is almost complete and DNA profiling of the family members of victims will be done very soon, according to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.
There were around 125,000 liters of fuel inside the aircraft, with temperatures so high that there was no opportunity to rescue the passengers, Shah said.
The plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport, in India's Gujarat state, the city's Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said Thursday. Boeing's Dreamliner planes had not previously been involved in an incident where passenger fatalities were reported. This plane had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, which is considered average for this aircraft, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad. I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau," Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a statement.
The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane "fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter" immediately after it departed from the airport. Video from the site appeared to show the jet disappear below the tree line, which was followed seconds later by a ball of fire and a thick plume of gray smoke.
"Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site," the Directorate General said in the statement.
The captain had 8,200 hours of experience and the copilot had 1,100 hours of flying experience, India's Directorate General added.
India's Central Industrial Security Forcereleased photosfrom the site of the crash, which appeared to include civilians and emergency personnel working to put out flaming wreckage. One photo appeared to show the damaged tail of the airplane resting partially inside a hole in a building.
The Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he had "directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action" to respond to the crash.
"Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site," the minister added.
GE Aerospace, the aircraft engine manufacturer, said in a statement they have also activated their emergency response team and are "prepared to support our customer and the investigation."
The local governor, Bhupendra Patel, spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the crash to coordinate their emergency response, officials said. Patel said he ordered a so-called "green corridor" for emergency vehicles to travel between the crash site and local hospitals.
Modi in a statement confirmed that he'd been in touch with local officials.
"The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us," he said ina statementon social media. "It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it."
The airline initially announced the crash ina statementon social media, saying the flight had been "involved in an incident," adding that it was "ascertaining the details" of the incident. The airline updated its social media profiles to display all-black profile pictures.
Air India alsoannouncedit will organize two relief flights, one each from Delhi and Mumbai, to Ahmedabad for the next of kin passengers and Air India staff.
Tata Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate of companies that owns Air India, said they will provide families of each person who has lost their life in the crash with ₹1 crore (about $116,000) and will also cover the medical expenses of those injured.
The flight was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad airport, which is officially Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, to London's Gatwick Airport.
It had been scheduled to depart at 9:50 a.m. local time, with a planned arrival time in London at 18:25 p.m. local time. Gatwick ina statementconfirmed the scheduled arrival time.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation in Ahmedabad, adding that his "thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time."
"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating," Starmer said ina statement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement he is "heartbroken to hear the news of the tragic plan crash" and will "stand with the emergency responders working to help those impacted."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alsorespondedto the incident, saying he extends condolences "to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss."
President Donald Trump told reporters that he has spoken with Modi following the crash and offered support to him during this time.
"The plane crash is terrible, I have told them, anything we can do, it is a big, strong country, they'll handle it. I let them know anything we can do, we'll be over there immediately," Trump said during an event at the White House on Thursday. "Horrific crash, looks like most are gone, they actually maybe have a couple survivors, just heard. Nobody has any idea what it might be. I gave them a couple of pointers, maybe look at this or that. Saw the plane, looked like it was flying well, did not look like an explosion, looked like the engines lost power. Terrible crash, one of the worst in aviation history."
The National Transportation Safety Board will be leading a team of U.S. investigators traveling to India to assist in the investigation of the crash.
All information regarding the investigation will be provided by the Indian government.
