At least 265 people have been killed while only one passenger survived when an Air India flight to London crashed moments after take-off from the city of Ahmedabad, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The Press Trust of India, citing police, reported that as many as 265 bodies were recovered after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew, crashed into a medical college hostel on Thursday.
Of the total bodies, 241 aboard Flight AI171 were confirmed dead by Air India while at least 24 people, believed to be students and locals, were killed on the ground.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, after visiting the site of the plane crash, said the high temperature due to burning fuel in the plane wreckage "left no chance" to save passengers.
He added that a final death toll will be announced once the victims are verified by DNA results.
The sole survivor of the crash was identified as British national of Indian origin Viswashkumar Ramesh, who was taken to a hospital.
"Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones," the airline said in a statement.
Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of Gujarat, the Western Indian state where the plane went down, was also confirmed dead.
Air India's owner company Tata pledged to provide 10 million Indian Rupees ($116,863) to the deceased's families, cover the medical expenses of the injured, and support the repairing of the hostel.
The flight had 169 Indian nationals aboard, plus 53 UK citizens, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada, in addition to two pilots and 10 members of the cabin crew.
Saw 'about 15 to 20 burned bodies'
Air India's flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed "immediately after takeoff", around 1:40 pm (0810 GMT), India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
Videos posted on social media showed the jet losing altitude — with its nose up — before it hit a medical staff hostel and exploded into a ball of fire.
The plane smashed into a building housing doctors and their families in a crowded residential area of Ahmedabad, a city home to about eight million people.
At the site of the crash between a hospital and the Ghoda Camp neighbourhood, an AFP journalist saw people recovering bodies and firefighters spraying water on the smouldering wreckage.
A resident, who declined to be named, said: "We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames."
"When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," another resident, Poonam Patni, told AFP, adding that many of the bodies were burned.
A doctor named Krishna said that "the nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch."
He said he saw "about 15 to 20 burned bodies", while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.
Investigation
Indian Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said that a formal investigation had been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation.
Aerospace manufacturer Boeing’s President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing was ready to assist with the investigation.
The British and US accident investigation agencies said they had sent teams to support the Indian inquiry.
A source close to the case said this was the first time a 787 Dreamliner had crashed.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the pride of the US company's catalogue for long-distance planes: a fuel-efficient, wide-body, lightweight aircraft able to transport up to 330 people.
