As it happened: At least 260 dead in India plane crash

Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 says the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.

"At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates," Air India said on X.

"The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals."

The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge jet of fire rising into the sky from beyond the houses.

Visuals also showed debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising up into the sky near the airport.

They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.

According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 9.09am Irish time from runway 23.

It gave a "Mayday" call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.

Flightradar24 also said that it received the last signal from the aircraft seconds after it took off.

"The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB," it said.

Boeing said it is aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 6.8% to $199.13 in pre-market trade.

Starmer says Air India crash 'devastating'

There were 53 British nationals on board the Air India flight.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he is being kept updated on the situation.

He said that the crash in Ahmedabad was "devastating", and added "my thoughts are with the passengers and their families".

"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.

"My thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office.

Britain's foreign office has said that it is working with Indian authorities to "urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved".

Fire fighters pictured at the scene of the crash in Ahmedabad.

All flight operations at Ahmedabad airport suspended

Ahmedabad airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect.

The airport is operated by India's Adani Group conglomerate.

The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.

The airline's Boeing-737 overshot a "table-top" runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.

Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.

The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara - a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.

Tata said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.