British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived the crash.
The government, through the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), has expressed deep sadness and condolences to the government and people of India following the crash of an India Airlines aeroplane.
The crash killed at least 242 people of various nationalities on Thursday.
Crash
Flight AI171 was travelling from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick Airport when it crashed in a residential area shortly after takeoff.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner struggled to take flight and ploughed into the Ghoda Camp neighbourhood, hitting a hospital complex and a medical student hostel.
WATCH: The only survivor of the Air India crash
JUST IN: Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India Boeing 787 crash, according to India Today.
Ramesh, 40, says there was a loud noise after takeoff.
“Thirty seconds after take off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so… pic.twitter.com/odls9uFKXK
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 12, 2025
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SA condolences
Dirco said it is not yet clear what caused the crash.
“The thoughts of the people of South Africa are with the people of India as well as the people of all other countries affected by the crash during this difficult time, and extend its sympathy to those families who have lost loved ones.”
Victims
A British couple, reportedly on the Air India flight that crashed, filmed a video of themselves at the airport before boarding.
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual wellness centre, laughed and joked on their Instagram story as they discussed a “10-hour flight back to England”.
In an earlier post, they shared their “mind-blowing” trip to India and their intention to create a vlog about it.
Survivor
Meanwhile, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived the crash.
Ramesh, who was one of 241 passengers and crew, said he had no idea how he managed to walk away.
He had been sitting near an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to jump out, police said.
Investigation
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a thorough investigation is being conducted.
“We are not going to leave any stone unturned. We’ll do it properly, and we are going to go to the depth of why this incident has happened, that much I can tell you.”
Photographs released by India’s Central Industrial Security Force, a paramilitary police force, showed a large chunk of the plane that had smashed through the brick and concrete wall of a building.
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