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The London-bound AI 171 flight departed from Ahmedabad at 1:38 pm on June 12, but within minutes, it crashed into a medical hostel near the Meghani Nagar area.
Eyewitness details Air India plane crash | CNN-News18 Image
A local resident who witnessed the harrowing crash of Air India Flight AI 171 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport said that 1,500 to 2,000 lives could have been lost if the plane had struck a residential area, noting how narrowly an even greater tragedy was averted.
The London-bound AI 171 flight departed from Ahmedabad at 1:38 pm on June 12, but within minutes, it crashed into a medical hostel near the Meghani Nagar area.
“We were playing cricket when the crash happened. The plane flew right above us — it was very close,” a local resident who witnessed the incident told CNN-News18.
“There was complete chaos after the accident. We rushed to the site and managed to rescue around 15 to 20 people. Usually, flights fly higher, but this one was dangerously close to the homes. Salute to the pilot for crashing the aircraft slightly away from the residential area — otherwise, 1,500 to 2,000 people could have easily died,” he added.
Earlier, the eyewitnesses described hearing a deafening explosion and seeing a fireball shoot into the sky as the aircraft, which was reportedly flying at an altitude of 825 feet, lost lift and plummeted into the residential zone.
According to ground-level footage and eyewitness testimony, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner struggled to climb and then plummeted, exploding into flames shortly after takeoff.
The Dreamliner was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese citizens, and 1 Canadian passenger.
The flight, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew, tragically claimed the lives of all but one aboard—40‑year‑old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated at exit row 11A—who survived with injuries.
The crash also impacted the hostel, killing dozens more on the ground.
- Location :
Gujarat, India, India
- First Published:
