A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 people has crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, western India.

Flight AI171 was travelling from Ahmedabad to London. Gatwick Airport confirms the plane travelling from Ahmedabad was due to land at 18:25pm UK time.

There were 169 Indian nationals on the flight, as well as 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.

Bystander videos from the scene show black smoke rising over a residential area.

According to BBC reports, rescue workers are currently on site, still trying to put out a fire

Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, says “with profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today”.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he says.

“At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”