TRANSCRIPT
More than 240 people are confirmed dead, after an Air India Dreamliner flight en-route to London crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad - in what has become the deadliest air disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 787 was less than one minute into its journey to London Gatwick Airport when it plummeted into a medical college hostel, triggering an explosion visible across the city - and sending a fireball into the sky.
A British national passenger is the only survivor among the 242 people who were on board.
They include: 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national.
Survivor Vishwashkumar Ramesh says he has no idea how he escaped the plane.
From his hospital bed, he recounted to the Hindustan Times, the moment the plane went down.
"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed… It all happened so quickly… When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me… Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."
Police say Mr Ramesh had been sitting near an emergency exit of the plane and managed to jump out.
It was not clear at which point he jumped.
The survivor’s brother, speaking from their home in Leicester in the UK, says Vishwashkumar had called their father just minutes before takeoff, and then again, moments after the crash.
"When he was on the runway, my dad called him. And Vishwash said, oh, we're going to take off soon. And then literally like two minutes later, he video called my dad as he crashed. 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."
Vishwashkumar was seated next to his brother on the airliner.
That brother is now assumed to be dead.
"It is a miracle, that he survived. What about the other miracle, for my other brother? Just hearing about this crash. I'm scared to fly now, to even stay on a plane now."
At the crash site, black smoke billowed above the wreckage as fire crews struggled to contain the flames.
Civil and military teams worked side by side along with volunteers and local residents to recover the dead and treat the injured.
Amrit Jaiswani, a local resident, was overcome with grief at the loss of life.
"I feel very sad. I have never felt this sad ever in my life. The atmosphere and position of this place, it makes me feel pained. I pray to God that such a tragedy should never happen again."
Among those killed were children, students, and medical staff.
It is unclear at this time, as search and rescue operations continue on the ground, how many were killed and injured at the medical hostel.
Indrajeet Singh Solanki was one of the first to arrive and help.
"In the beginning, I couldn’t understand anything, it was only smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning. Just like this wing lying over here. … Through the smoke, we kept rescuing injured people and rushed them to the trauma centre in the civil hospital in auto rickshaws. We rushed 9 people to the hospital."
Mr Solanki says the memory will haunt him for days to come.
"I feel bad that more than 200 people have died, it will be hard to sleep for the next few days at least. But at the time of the accident, we had only one aim - to save lives no matter what happens. There were many volunteers here. Some people came with bulldozers to offer help."
Officials say the pilot had issued a Mayday call moments before losing contact.
Video footage of the crash shows the airplane taking off, struggling to gain altitude for 30 seconds, before dipping down and crashing in a ball of fire.
Air India confirmed this was the airline’s first crash involving the Dreamliner aircraft since its introduction in 2011.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister says a full investigation is now underway.
In London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed sorrow over the tragedy and confirmed that the UK is working closely with Indian authorities.
"Well, the images and news from India is absolutely devastating, and I speak for the entire country saying our thoughts are with each and every one of those involved. There will be British and Indian families across the land who are absolutely impacted by this and our thoughts first and foremost are with them. Obviously the investigation is going on. We've dispatched an investigation team. That's being deployed. The Foreign Secretary is leading on this."
