At least 265 dead in India plane crash one passenger survives

Ahmedabad, India - A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground – but one passenger has miraculously survived.

An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – which had 242 passengers and crew on board – hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.

The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked into June 13 morning scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words”.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai told reporters said that “265 bodies have reached the hospital”.

That suggests that at least 24 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball – and that the toll may rise further as more bodies are located.

‘Devastating’

The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.

“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.

“The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.

Dr Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.

India’s civil aviation authority said two pilots and 10 cabin crew were among the 242 people on board.

Air India said there were 169 Indian