Devastating scenes, thoughts with passengers: UK PM on Air India flight crash

The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has responded to the crash of a London-bound plane in Ahmedabad. Around 53 British nationals were also onboard on this flight.

“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,” said UK PM Keir Starmer.

He also expressed his sympathies with the families of those who had onboarded the flight.

“I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time,” he added.

An Air India flight bound for London crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Air India 171, carried 242 people.

According to Air India, 169 of them were Indian nationals, 53 were British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the pilots issued a “Mayday” distress call, a global radio alert used for life-threatening emergencies—just minutes before the crash.

Follow live updates on the Ahmedabad plane crash.