Benjamin Netanyahu has joined King Charles, Keir Starmer and other world leaders in expressing shock and sympathies after an Air India plane bound for London’s Gatwick Airport crashed with 242 people minutes after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad.
The Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 came down in the residential area of Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time on Thursday.
There were at least 11 children among the 242 people on board. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.
t was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Reports later suggested there had been only one survivor of the crash, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British-Indian, who lives in London and was in Ahmedabad visiting family.
In a message to the Indian people and its leader, Netanyahu posted on X:”To my friend PM Narendra Modi and the people of India,
I was saddened to learn of the tragic Air India crash that has taken the lives of 242 men, women and children. “My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen.”
Benjamin Netanyahu in India with PM Narendra Modi
In another post on social media the Eurpoean Jewish Congress said:”Tragic news from India, where an Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
“With over 200 lives reportedly lost, our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this terrible disaster.”
King Charles said on Thursday he was desperately shocked by the Air India plane crash in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, with passengers including 53 Britons and one Canadian.
“My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning,” the monarch said in a statement.
“Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones.
“I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.”
Air India flight AI171 plane crash
UK PM Starmer posted on X:”The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.
“I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”
The World Jewish Congress also posted a response to the crash saying:”Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the rescuers working on the ground through this tragedy.”
The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge jet of fire rose into the sky from beyond the houses.
Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than 5 million.
They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.
