Ahmedabad plane crash updates: 241 dead, only 1 survivor; efforts on to recover black box

CHENNAI: A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex here and burst into a ball of fire on Thursday moments after takeoff, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country's worst air disasters.

According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 were two pilots and 10 crew members.

"We regret to inform that of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities," the airline said in a statement issued late Thursday. It said the sole survivor is a British national of Indian origin and is being treated in a hospital.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the dead.

The twin-engine wide-bodied aircraft crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport perimeter, in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad, around 2 pm

Meanwhile, efforts are on recover the black box of the flight as its analysis will provide vital clues about what triggered the disaster, said police and Fire Brigade officials on Friday.