Everything we know about the Air India plane crash

An Air India flight which was en route to London Gatwick has crashed in India.

At least 242 people were on board the flight when it crashed shortly after take-off in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad. Local police initially said there appeared to be no survivors.

The Reuters news agency reports that at least 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site. India plane crash latest: Follow live updates But Sky News has confirmed that Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, survived the plane crash in Ahmedabad.

Here is all we know so far. Where did the plane crash? Air India Flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad Airport at 1.38pm local time on Thursday.

According to flight-tracking website Flightradar, the aircraft reached a height of 625ft before crashing. The last signal from the plane was received less than a minute after take-off.

CCTV footage shows the plane struggling to gain altitude, and instead begins descending towards buildings, with its wheels still out and its nose raised. The aircraft crashed into a residential area of the city called Meghaninagar, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told the Associated Press.

It came down just outside the airport, hitting the residential quarters of BJ Medical College where students were staying. City police chief G.S.

Malik said 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, according to the Reuters news agency. They said the figure could include passengers and those who died on the ground from impact.

At least 30 bodies were recovered from a building at the site of the crash, Reuters reported, citing rescue workers at the site. More people were trapped inside the building, the workers said.

The tail of the plane has been pictured protruding from the structure, while the wings were ripped completely from the main body of the aircraft. Images from the scene showed people being carried in stretchers and taken away in ambulances.

Who was on board? Air India said the 242 passengers and crew included 53 British nationals, 169 Indian nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. Three Britons are confirmed to have died - all members of the same family.

In a Facebook statement, Gloucester Muslim Community said Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara died in the crash. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is believed to be the only survivor.

His brother, Nayan, told Sky News their father was on the phone to him while the plane was still on the runway - before he video called again two minutes later to say the plane had crashed and: "I don't know how I'm alive." Their other brother was also reported to have been on the plane - but the family has not heard from him since. Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Ramesh said he "still can't believe" he survived.

He said he thought he "was also going to die" but he then "opened [his] eyes". "I pulled out the belt from under my seat and tried to escape.

Then I managed to do it," he told DD India. Mr Ramesh told the Hindustan Times newspaper he had lived in London for 20 years and that his brother was seated in a different row on the plane.

Air India said it had "set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information". A separate passenger hotline for foreign nationals has also been set up by the airline on +91 8062779200.

The flight had been due to land at London Gatwick at 6.25pm UK time. What caused the crash? It is unknown at this stage what caused the crash.

The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The American aircraft manufacturer which makes the plane, said it is in contact with Air India and "stands ready to support them".

Aviation expert Julian Bray told Sky News that he understands the pilot of Flight 171 managed to make a mayday call before the crash. This would mean the crew was aware of a problem before the incident happened.

A mayday call is an internationally recognised distress signal used in radio communication. It indicates an imminent danger and the need for immediate assistance.

One black box has already been recovered from the aircraft, which could hold key information about the flight, including what the pilots were saying to each other in the cockpit, and information on altitude and speed. Sky News' science correspondent Thomas Moore said investigators will now be studying this information to try to understand why the crash occurred.

"It's possible there was an engine failure of some kind, perhaps caused by a catastrophic mechanical fault. But the plane is designed to be able to fly with one engine, even at take-off, so something else would have to go wrong too," he said "Both engines could have failed if they sucked in a flock of birds as the plane took off.

It's happened in other air crashes." How has the UK responded? Sir Keir Starmer said the scenes emerging from the site of the crash in Ahmedabad were "devastating". The prime minister said he was being kept updated as the situation develops.

Buckingham Palace said King Charles is also being briefed on the crash. In a statement, the King said: "My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning.

"Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones." ???? Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app ???? The UK's Foreign Office said it is currently "working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved". Britons who have concerns should call 0207 008 5000, it said.

Sky News understands that Foreign Secretary David Lammy has chaired a COBRA meeting in response to the crash. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has also deployed four investigators to help the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in India with its investigation into the crash.

What has India said? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the plane crash was "heartbreaking beyond words". "The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us," he said.

"In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it." The country's civil aviation minister said he is "shocked and devastated". While the boss of Air India, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said: "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event." Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10 million rupees (around £86,000) to the families of those who were killed in the crash.

Previous plane crashes in India Air India, which started operations in 1932, and its subsidiary Air India Express have suffered several fatal crashes. According to Aviation Safety Network (ASN) the most recent fatal crash was in August 2020, when Boeing 737-800 (Air India Express) overshot the runway in Karipur, India, rolled down an embankment and broke up, killing 21 people.

Non-fatal incidents have happened as recently as this year. In January, an Airbus A320-251N suffered an engine shutdown after departing Bangalore and landed safely at the same location, according to The Times of India.

Boeing shares fell nearly 8% in premarket US trading on Thursday, after the crash in Ahmedabad..