Death toll in Ahmedabad plane crash rises to 179

Hyderabad: The death toll from the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash rose to 179, with many passengers still unaccounted for. Unconfirmed reports stated that 20 medical students of BJ Medical College (BJMC) died when the plane fell on the college building. 30 bodies have been recovered so far.

The aircraft collided with the dormitory section of BJ Medical College (BJMC), a medical college in Ahmedabad.

Officials said several people lost their lives in Thursday’s Air India crash near Ahmedabad airport. The London-bound flight, carrying 242 passengers, crashed minutes after takeoff, slamming into a building just beyond the airport perimeter.

The Air India plane bound for London caused severe damage to buildings in the premises, eyewitnesses said.

Several people living in the residential quarters located near the Ahmedabad airport were injured in the crash, they claimed though there was no official confirmation of this. The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors of the government-run college, an eyewitness, Haresh Shah, saidI. "There are several five-floor buildings which serve as residential quarters. Many people in those apartments were injured as the buildings also caught fire," he said. Another eyewitness said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.

A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in a residential area minutes after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon. Many people were feared killed. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI171) could be seen from afar, losing altitude rapidly and crashing in a ball of fire that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air. The aircraft carrying 232 passengers and 10 crew crashed in Meghaninagar area near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at around 2 pm.