Great BritainAt least 204 dead in plane crash in India
SDA
12.6.2025 - 17:07
dpatopbilder - The debris of an airplane protrudes from a building after it crashed in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. Photo: Ajit Solanki/AP/dpa
Keystone
Thick clouds of smoke rise above the accident site. The demolished wreckage, a burnt-out wing and parts of the landing gear give an idea of the scale of the disaster. At least 204 people have died in a plane crash in India, police told the German Press Agency. Numerous injured people were taken to hospitals.
Keystone-SDA
12.06.2025, 17:07
SDA
There were 242 people on board. The Air India plane crashed into a building. According to unconfirmed reports, a "Mayday" call came from the cockpit shortly before the accident. It initially remained unclear how many of the victims on the ground died in or near the building. The police initially spoke of a total of 40 injured.
Rescue workers removed numerous bodies covered with white sheets during the course of the day. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of a "tragedy" that left people stunned. "In this sad hour", his thoughts are with all those affected.
Search for survivors underway
Indian Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda announced on the X platform that he had received information that there were numerous fatalities - without giving any further details. Images and unverified videos conveyed devastating impressions of the disaster site. Helpers continued to search for survivors in the evening. "The injured passengers have been taken to the nearest hospitals by the local authorities," said Air India chief Campbell Wilson on Platform X.
Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat to London-Gatwick, arriving in England in the evening. The plane crashed just seconds after take-off. According to the airline, citizens from India, Great Britain, Canada and Portugal were on board. Twelve crew members were assigned to the flight.
Great sympathy: "shocking" images
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his sympathy on X. "We mourn with the families and relatives," he wrote, among other things. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that "the news of the devastating plane crash at Ahmedabad airport, in which so many people lost their lives, has deeply shocked me."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote that the scenes were "shocking". The British King Charles III was also informed about the current developments. He and his wife, Queen Camilla, were deeply shocked.
"We share your pain," wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Addressing India's Prime Minister Modi, she emphasized: "Europe stands in solidarity with you and the Indian people in this moment of grief."
Crash immediately after take-off
According to data from the aircraft tracker "Flightradar24", the eleven-year-old aircraft with the registration VT-ANB was scheduled for the flight. It was due to take off from western India at 1.10 p.m. and land at Gatwick Airport at 6.25 p.m. (local time). Ahmedabad is one of India's largest cities and is located in the west of the country. In the 2011 census, 5.6 million people lived there.
According to Flightradar24, initial data from the ADS-B system, which provides data on position, speed and altitude every second, shows that the aircraft had climbed to a barometric altitude of 625 feet (190 meters). It then fell at a speed of 475 feet per minute.
The cause of the crash was initially completely unclear. The PA news agency quoted Natarajan Chandrasekaran from the Air India owners, who spoke of a "tragic accident". The main focus is on supporting all the people and families affected.
Boeing aircraft in focus
Videos and pictures of the crash site went viral on social media immediately after the crash. The unverified footage also shows the work of the rescue teams.
According to the Aviation Safety Network Database, this was the first accident involving a 787 Dreamliner. In recent years, Boeing has repeatedly hit the headlines due to safety problems. In the accidents involving 737 Max aircraft in October 2018 and March 2019, 346 people lost their lives. Aviation authorities around the world subsequently banned the model from flying.
Only after some technical improvements were made was the model gradually released for air traffic again. Following the crash on Thursday, Boeing shares fell by almost eight percent. Boeing said on request that they were in contact with the airline. "Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all those affected," Boeing said.
Over 200 fatalities in airplane accidents in 2025
According to the Swiss-based Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, at least 250 people had already died in aircraft accidents in 2025 before the accident in India. In 2024 as a whole, the figure was 621. 334 people died in civil aviation worldwide in 2024, according to a report by the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry.
In January 2025, for example, a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane collided with a military helicopter on approach in the US capital Washington. A total of 67 people lost their lives. The helicopter's tracking technology is said to have been switched off.
At the end of December 2024, an aircraft crashed into a wall shortly after landing at Muan Airport in South Korea. 179 occupants lost their lives. Both engines showed clear signs of a bird strike. In the Brazilian state of São Paulo, a plane with 61 people on board crashed into a residential area of the city of Vinhedo in August. None of the occupants survived. Around two weeks earlier, in the Himalayan state of Nepal, a plane crashed onto part of the runway at the capital's airport in Kathmandu, killing 18 people.