London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner AI171 travelling from Ahmedabad, western India, to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off from runway 23 of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 242 people. The CCTV footage showed the aircraft lifting off smoothly, and seconds after take-off the airline failed to climb as expected and skimmed forward too low, too slow  and crashed into a doctor’s hostel of a medical college in Meghaninagar locality, erupting into flames emitting thick black smoke.  Dreamliner gave a mayday call to air traffic control 30 seconds after taking off and then the signal was lost.

There were 169 Indian, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese, 1 Canadian national on the flight according to Air India. Tracking website Flight radar 24 said it received the last signal from the aircraft at 625 feet (190m) just seconds after taking off. Air India has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number  18005691 444.

According a senior local police office in Ahmedabad the London-bound plane crashed into a doctors’ hostel. Weather conditions were stable and clear, surface winds were light and visibility was six kilometres, when the plane crashed.

Rescue team rushed in could only rescue one lucky survivor 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from Leicester, pulled out alive in seat 11A -by an emergency exit door-. The crash also claimed lives of five people in the hostel who were killed instantly.

Bhumi Chauhan, a British woman who was visiting India her family home in Bharuch, missed the ill-fated Air India plane as she was stuck in heavy traffic and reached the airport late. She thanked her lucky stars for missing the flight.

The aircraft piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a commander with over 8, 200 flight hours and first officer Clive Kundar, who had 1, 100 hours of flying experience.