At least 265 people have been confirmed dead following the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The London-bound flight crashed shortly after takeoff, ploughing into a residential area and destroying several buildings.
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs continued search operations at the crash site on Friday, sifting through debris to recover bodies and locate potential survivors. Authorities stated that 265 bodies had been recovered so far, including at least 24 individuals who were on the ground at the time of the crash. Officials warned the toll could rise as recovery efforts continued.
The aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed less than a minute after takeoff, having barely reached 100 metres in altitude. The jet smashed into a hostel housing medical staff and nearby buildings, including a canteen where students were eating lunch.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai confirmed the number of fatalities and said the final death toll would be determined after DNA testing. India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah, stated that families abroad had been informed and that DNA samples were being collected for identification purposes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and described the tragedy as “heartbreaking beyond words.” Air India disclosed that the passengers included 169 Indians, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and 12 crew members.
Remarkably, one man, a British national of Indian origin named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash. He is currently receiving treatment in hospital. His brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, told reporters in Leicester, UK, “He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane.’”
Distraught families gathered in Ahmedabad to provide DNA samples and await news. One man, Ashfaque Nanabawa, said he last spoke to his cousin Akeel, who was on the plane with his wife and daughter, moments before takeoff. “He said: ‘I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay.’ That was his last call,” he recounted.
Another grieving woman, who lost her son-in-law in the crash, said, “My daughter doesn’t know that he’s no more. I can’t break the news to her — can someone else do that, please?”
Authorities reported that the plane issued a mayday call before crashing, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Witnesses described how one half of the plane embedded itself in the hostel building, while the front part crashed into a canteen.
US plane manufacturer Boeing stated it was in contact with Air India and ready to offer support. British and US air accident investigation teams are en route to assist Indian authorities in determining the cause of the crash.
The Tata Group, owners of Air India, announced financial compensation of 10 million rupees (approximately $117,000) to each family of the deceased and pledged to cover medical expenses for the injured.
Experts have warned against speculation over the cause of the crash. However, Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, suggested that a double engine failure — possibly due to a bird strike — may have led to the tragedy.
India has experienced several major air disasters in recent decades, including a 2010 crash in Mangalore that killed 158 people, and a 1996 mid-air collision near New Delhi that left nearly 350 dead.
India’s aviation sector has seen rapid expansion, making the country the world’s fourth-largest air travel market. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently projected India will become the third-largest air market globally within a decade.
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