Air India Ahmedabad tragedy: Plane crashes into BJ Medical College hostel, injured students rushed to hospital

As of now, there has been no official confirmation of casualty figures or fatalities.

Air India flight AI171, which crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad reportedly caused significant damage at the crash site-- BJMC UG hostel mess, according to a statement by Federation of All India Medical Associations.

The FAIMA statement also added that the crash resulted in multiple injuries among the student of the mess, necessitating immediate admissions to Civil Hospital Ahmedabad. "However, there has been no official confirmation regarding casualties, including deaths or missing students," the statement read.

The airline climbed to a barometric altitude of just 625 feet before beginning a rapid descent, according to data from flight tracking site Flightradar24.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, had 242 passengers and 10 crew members on board. It crashed just 10 minutes after take-off into a residential area, culminating in a fiery impact near the airport’s perimeter.

As of now, there has been no official confirmation of casualty figures or fatalities. Rescue efforts are ongoing. However, the passenger manifest includes former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, listed as passenger number 12.

A senior police officer at the site told ANI, “Preliminary, we came to know that an Air India flight bound to London has crashed at the doctors’ hostel. Within 2-3 minutes, police and other agencies reached the spot. Almost 70–80 percent of the area has been cleaned. All agencies are working here.”

Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Gandhinagar and three more from Vadodara, comprising around 90 personnel, were dispatched to aid in rescue and containment operations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.