The crash of an Air India plane with 242 people on board near Ahmedabad airport in India has caused shock.
The aircraft, which was traveling with 230 passengers and 12 crew members, had just taken off when, less than a minute after it left the ground, it crashed outside the airport perimeter, in a residential area.
India's federal health minister said "many people" had been killed.
According to Reuters, a senior police officer told reporters that Air India flight AI171 crashed into a doctors' hostel.
"The building the plane crashed into is a doctors' hostel... we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will soon clear the rest," he said, according to Reuters.
At least 30 bodies have been recovered from a building at the site of the plane crash, Reuters reports, citing rescue personnel at the scene.
More people were trapped inside, rescuers said.
Of the 242 people on board, 217 were adults and 11 were children, a source told Reuters. Of these, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, Air India said.
Aviation tracking website Flightradar24 reported that the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft at the moment.
Shocking video, the moment the Air India plane crashed
The crash occurred shortly after the plane took off. Video reportedly shows the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball forms.
The first accident involving a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
"The aircraft involved is an 787-year-old Boeing 8-11 Dreamliner. This is the first major accident involving the 787," said Graham Braithwaite, Director of Aerospace and Aviation at Cranfield University.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is one of the most modern passenger aircraft, with a generally good safety record and no previous fatal accidents.
Accidents during takeoff are rare
"Although takeoff is a critical stage of flight, aircraft accidents are extremely rare, especially when they involve modern aircraft types such as the Boeing 787," Braithwaite said.
"Takeoff is a critical stage because the aircraft is still accelerating and any problem resolution requires a rapid response."
Source: iefimerida.gr
