An Air India plane carrying 242 passengers crashed near the Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat on Thursday, ANI reported, quoting the State Police Control Room.

Air India said that the flight, AI171, was slated to travel from Ahmedabad to London. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest,” the airline said in a social media post.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the aircraft took off at 1.38 pm and crashed just five minutes later, the agency added.

Visuals on social media showed that the aircraft crashed and burst into flames barely a minute after taking off.

Out of those who were on board, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British, seven are Portuguese and one is Canadian.

The authorities have retrieved 204 bodies from the site of the crash, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told The Hindu. He added that 41 injured persons were also taken to the hospital.

The police commissioner told ANI that the police found one survivor on seat 11A of the plane. He further said: “One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet.”

India Today released visuals purportedly showing the passenger who was on seat 11A walking along a road after the crash.

Dhananjay Dwivedi, the additional chief secretary of the Gujarat Health and Family Welfare Department, told reporters that the Civil Hospital students' hostel, staff quarters and other residential areas are located in the area where the plane crashed.

“The residents of that area were also injured,” said Dwivedi. “About 50 injured people have been brought to the Civil Hospital.”

Additionally, the Ahmedabad Police released a list of 25 injured persons.

The plane was a B787 Dreamliner aircraft, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. The agency said that the flight gave a mayday call to the local Air Traffic Control, but when the control room called the aircraft, there was no response.

“Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on ground outside the airport perimeter,” the civil aviation authority said.

Flight operations at the Ahmedabad airport were briefly suspended after the crash. However, limited operations resumed at 4.05 pm, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to provide medical aid and relief support at the site.

“We are on highest alert,” the minister said. “I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.”

N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of India, announced that the Tata Group will provide Rs 1 crore to the families of each person who died, and will also cover the medical expenses of those injured.

“We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted,” he said.

The Air India chairman added that an emergency centre has been activated and support teams have been set up for families seeking information.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was “heartbreaking beyond words” and that he was in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Modi said on social media. “In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation and described the crash as devastating.

“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” said Starmer.

He added that his “thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time”.