Plane crashes near major Indian airport with 242 people on board

An Air India plane with 242 people on board crashed near a major international airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, the airline and the country’s government said Thursday.

Footage posted to social media shortly after the crash and verified by NBC News, shows plumes of thick black smoke rising into the sky from a civilian location to the south of the airport.

The plane’s tail could be seen protruding from the wall of a building in a picture from the crash site shared on X by India’s central police force. Other images showed rescuers standing next to charred wreckage and a downed tree near a residential complex.

The flight was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew, a spokesperson for the airline told NBC News.

Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals, the airline said in a separate statement. “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,” it added.

The airline did not provide nationalities of the crew members.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers had died aboard the flight that was scheduled to depart at 1:10 p.m. local time (3:40 a.m. ET), and expected to land in London at 18:25 p.m. local time (1:25 p.m. ET).

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy had “stunned and saddened us,” in a post on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,” he added.

Separately, the country’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a post on X that he was “ shocked and devastated.”

“I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action,” he added. “Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site.”