Videos from the June 12 crash site show devastating scenes after a plane struck a medical hostel, leaving nearly 300 dead and several still missing.
Air India Flight 171 crashed into the residential hostel of B.J. Medical College and Hospital, where dozens of medical students were staying, shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport en route to London’s Gatwick Airport. The impact damaged a section of the building and triggered a nationwide emergency response.
According to CNN, the Federation of All India Medical Association said that between 50 and 60 students were admitted to local hospitals. Additionally, two to three are in intensive care, and about four to five remain missing.
The federation also reported that three to four relatives of resident doctors are missing, and the wife of one resident has been confirmed dead. It has also issued a public appeal for urgent blood donations.
The full extent of the tragedy is still unfolding. A senior doctor at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital told CNN that at least 290 people have died, including passengers — some of them minors — local residents, and individuals inside the hostel at the time of the crash.
The aircraft was reportedly carrying Indian, British, Canadian, and Portuguese nationals. Authorities have warned that the death toll may continue to rise.
Wreckage from the plane littered the campus, where part of the aircraft tore into a hostel housing dozens of medical interns. One image shows a man alone in a dim corridor, carefully navigating a mound of debris.
From another angle, from above, crowds gather on what remains of an upper floor. Rubble overflows from the broken walls as responders continue searching through the wreckage for signs of life.
Inside the dining hall, tables remain upright, but thick layers of dust and debris cover abandoned trays and half-eaten meals — a haunting snapshot of how abruptly normal life was disrupted.
Another frame captures the urgency of the rescue as dozens of responders and civilians climb over rubble and unstable surfaces to continue the search. Cracked walls and dangling debris underscore the dangerous conditions they faced.
Outside, part of the plane’s tail is seen lodged deep into the side of a campus building. Onlookers and officials gather below the jagged wreckage, which now looms over the street like a monument to the crash’s violence.
Another scene shows charred remains at the crash site’s entrance. Burnt-out vehicles, office furniture, and scorched walls are taped off as investigators and police examine the area.
In one ABC News segment, Retired Colonel Stephen Ganyard of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) discussed the crash alongside a view of the embedded aircraft tail. Only one survivor has been confirmed, magnifying the devastation at what was once a vibrant medical training hub.
Elsewhere, emergency teams in orange uniforms stand around a stretcher amid charred debris, their presence highlighting the urgency and scale of the recovery effort.
As the investigation continues, the crash has drawn focus to the aircraft model and technical details of the flight.
As previously reported, Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was carrying 244 people — 232 passengers and 12 crew members, according to officials. Of the 232 passengers, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British, while one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals were also among those traveling.
A further breakdown reveals that the passengers included 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. The total number of fatalities has yet to be confirmed.
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest on http://airindia.com and on our X handle (https://x.com/airindia),” a spokesperson for Air India confirmed on X.
The aircraft had departed at 1:38 p.m. local time. It was scheduled to land at London’s Gatwick Airport at 6:25 p.m. According to data from Flight Radar, it lost signal just seconds after takeoff, having reached an altitude of 625 feet.
Before communication with the aircraft was severed, the aircraft issued a mayday alert to air traffic control. No further communication followed after the distress call.
The plane went down in a residential area called Meghani Nagar, crashing into a doctor’s hostel, only five minutes into the flight. The densely populated neighborhood lies near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, a city of over 5 million residents.
Visuals aired on local news channels showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash site as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Weather conditions were reported to be calm and clear at the time of the crash, according to flight safety expert Marco Chan. Aviation forecasts indicated light surface winds and visibility of around six kilometers, with no severe weather, storms, or wind shear present that could have impacted the flight.
Caught On Cam: Passenger plane crashes near Ahmedabad Airport.#PlaneCrash #Gujarat #Ahmedabad #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/EkitM2Eg9Y
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 12, 2025
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, confirmed the location of the crash and the number of people on board.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, shared that emergency response teams had been dispatched to the scene, with efforts underway to provide immediate medical assistance and necessary relief to those affected.
“We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” he noted. “My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”
Operations at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport have been suspended, with the airport remaining closed until further notice.
Meanwhile, local politician Darshna Vaghela told reporters that several doctors’ flats in the area were damaged in the crash. He said he was nearby at the time and helped rescue many of the residents from their homes. A senior police also chimed in, “We have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon.”
According to local media reports, the aircraft came down on the dining hall of the government-run B.J. Medical College hostel.
Footage aired showed part of the plane lodged on top of the building. Rescue teams at the scene indicated they had recovered between 30 and 35 bodies so far, with others feared to be still trapped under the debris.
A parent, Ramila, shared that her son had just entered the hostel for a lunch break when the plane crashed. He jumped from the second floor and was injured, but is now safe.
Anxious relatives gathered outside hospitals in Ahmedabad awaiting news of loved ones have also spoken out. Among them was Poonam Patel who said his sister-in-law had been on the London-bound flight. “Within an hour, I got the news that the plane had crashed. So I came here,” he said.
Records show the crashed aircraft frequently operates routes between India and cities such as Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Melbourne. This marks the first-ever crash involving a Boeing 787-8, a significant moment for the aircraft that has maintained a strong safety record since its launch 14 years ago.
Known as the Dreamliner, it is one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service. The model recently celebrated a major milestone, having transported over a billion passengers across nearly five million flights. The global fleet of more than 1,175 Dreamliners has accumulated over 30 million flight hours.
#AirIndiaPlaneCrash | Visuals from the hostel and mess of BJ Medical College where the plane crashed.
Read LIVE updates: https://t.co/X1eTvFIa0D pic.twitter.com/bjNDevToHJ
— NDTV Profit (@NDTVProfitIndia) June 12, 2025
The incident is a serious setback for Boeing, which has already been under pressure due to ongoing issues with its 737 aircraft line. It also presents a fresh challenge for CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is nearing his one-year mark at the helm and was appointed to help steer the company through mounting concerns about its operations and reliability.
The aircraft involved in the Air India #AI171 crash is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration number VT-ANB and serial number 36279.
First flight of the aircraft was on 2013-12-14 and it was delivered to Air India in January 2014. pic.twitter.com/gC1Mk5WoCa
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 12, 2025
The last deadly aviation accident in India occurred in 2020, resulting in 21 deaths. An Air India Express flight, part of the airline’s budget division, overshot a tabletop runway at Kozhikode International Airport in the south.
The Boeing 737 skidded, plunged into a valley, and crashed nose-first. Since then, Air India has undergone significant changes. Once state-run, the airline was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022 and later merged with Vistara, its joint venture with Singapore Airlines, in 2024.
