Air India plane crashes

(MENAFN) Footage has surfaced online showing the final moments of Air India Flight 171 just after it took off from Ahmedabad in western India. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people when it went down in a residential area, although the exact number of casualties is not yet clear.

The video shows the aircraft flying at a low altitude with its nose raised and landing gear still deployed. Shortly afterwards, the plane descends and crashes into the neighborhood, triggering a huge fireball and sending thick black smoke into the sky.

Another video, filmed at the scene of the incident, shows smoldering debris surrounded by a large crowd of onlookers.

The flight was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. According to Air India, there were 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian citizen on board. The injured are currently being rushed to nearby hospitals.

Media reports have provided conflicting figures on the number of deaths. The cause of the incident has not yet been determined.

Boeing, one of the world’s leading aircraft makers, has come under heavy criticism in recent years following a series of accidents involving its 737 MAX. Between 2019 and 2020, two 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia resulted in the deaths of 346 people. Although the Boeing 787 has avoided much of this controversy, it has previously experienced issues related to its lithium-ion batteries and production controls.

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