Ahmedabad, India — A big airplane called a Dreamliner crashed into a neighborhood in the city of Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday. It was a flight from Air India, going to London, but it never made it far.
The plane crashed shortly after taking off. It didn’t even go higher than a 30-story building before something went terribly wrong.
🔥 The plane crashed into homes and a hospital dorm, where medical workers lived, and exploded into flames.
😢 So Many Lives Lost
There were 242 people on the plane, including passengers and crew. At least 265 people are now confirmed dead—this includes people on the plane and people living in the buildings it hit. Sadly, that number might still go up, as some bodies are too badly burned to identify.
📦 What Is a Black Box—and Why Is It Important?
On Friday, rescue workers found the plane’s black box recorder. It’s not really black—it’s usually orange—but it holds important information about the plane, like what the pilots said and what went wrong with the engines. Investigators will use this to try and find out exactly why the crash happened.
🙏 The Only Survivor
One man survived the crash. His name is Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen. He was taken to the hospital with burns and injuries, but he’s alive.
“I thought I was going to die,” he said from his hospital bed. “But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was still alive.”
Vishwash said the crash happened just a minute after takeoff. The plane’s green and white lights started blinking, and then everything turned to chaos.
🧬 DNA Tests to Find Out Who Died
Because the crash and fire were so bad, it’s hard to identify the bodies. That’s why the government is now collecting DNA from family members—even those who live in other countries—to find out who died.
One man, Ashfaque Nanabawa, said his cousin, cousin’s wife, and 3-year-old daughter were all on the plane. They had talked just before takeoff.
“He called us and said, ‘We boarded the plane safely. Everything is okay.’ That was his last call.”
A woman at the emergency center was crying. Her son-in-law had died, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her daughter yet.
“Can someone else please tell her? I just can’t,” she said through tears.
💔 Witnesses Describe Horror
People who saw the crash up close said it was like a scene from a nightmare.
“There were bodies everywhere. Many were burned. It looked like coal,” said Bharat Solanki, who rushed to help from a nearby gas station.
A doctor who lived nearby said,
“One half of the plane crashed into the building where we doctors live with our families.”
✈️ First Crash of Its Kind
This crash is a big deal because it’s the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has ever crashed. The plane is built to fly even if one engine fails, so experts believe both engines stopped working, possibly due to a bird strike—when birds hit the engine and cause it to fail.
🌍 International Help and Support
-
The UK and US are sending teams to help with the investigation.
-
The company that owns Air India, Tata Group, said it will give ₱10 million (about $117,000) to the families of those who died, and also pay medical bills for those hurt.
📈 India’s Air Travel Is Growing Fast
India now has one of the biggest airline industries in the world. With 1.4 billion people, it’s expected to become the third biggest air market in just a few years.
But this crash is a painful reminder that safety must come first, no matter how big the airline industry gets.
