Air India Flight Crashes After Takeoff—241 Feared Dead

Tragedy struck on June 12, 2025, when Air India Flight AI171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, en route to London Gatwick. Of the 242 people on board, 241 are feared dead in what is now one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner lost contact with air traffic control just seconds after departure and went down in a heavily populated neighborhood near Meghani Nagar, close to the airport. Dramatic images and videos from the scene show thick smoke rising and wreckage strewn across buildings, with parts of the aircraft’s fuselage visible among the debris.

On board were 232 passengers and 12 crew members, including 53 British nationals. Miraculously, one person survived: 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British-Indian man who was injured but conscious. He later described waking up surrounded by bodies and running through the wreckage until help arrived.

India’s Civil Aviation Minister and local officials have promised full support for rescue and recovery efforts. Air India’s chairman expressed heartbreak over the loss and said teams are working to support families of the victims.

Although the weather was clear at the time of the crash, investigators are still working to determine the cause. The incident is raising new concerns about Boeing aircraft safety, following previous high-profile crashes involving the company’s planes in 2018 and 2019.