Air India Jet Hit Students Having Lunch

5 students at medical college reportedly among those killed; 242 were on the plane
Posted Jun 12, 2025 9:15 AM CDT
Air India Jet Hit Students Having Lunch
The tail of an Air India jet protrudes from a damaged building after crashing Thursday in Ahmedabad, India.   (India's Central Industrial Security Force)

No survivors are expected among the 242 people aboard the Air India jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, though officials have described dozens of injured people on the ground. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the dining facility of a local medical college where students were having lunch, reports the New York Times. The plane is also said to have struck residential dorms, per AFP. At least five students were killed, according to the dean of the college, which lies about a mile from the airport.

  • Footage: Videos shared on social media show a plane losing altitude with its nose up before hitting the college in a ball of fire, per AFP. The BBC has this verified video. Note the distressing content.

  • Crash site: A dramatic photo shows the plane's tail sticking out of a damaged building at BJ Medical College. The dean said 10 or 12 students were trapped in the fire, per the Times.
  • Recovery: Ahmedabad's police commissioner, GS Malik, said 204 bodies have so far been recovered. He said at least 41 people were injured and receiving treatment, without specifying whether they were passengers or victims on the ground.
  • Survivors unlikely: He's quoted as saying, however, "I don't think anyone might have survived, the way the plane has crashed," per the Wall Street Journal.

  • Passengers: The breakdown of the 230 passengers: 169 are Indian citizens, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Among them is Vijay Rupani, who was chief minister of Gujarat state from 2016 to 2021, the Times reports.
  • Air India: Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran says India's flagship carrier is focused on "supporting all the affected people and their families" and assisting emergency response teams.
(More Air India stories.)

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