Tragedy struck on Thursday as Air India Flight 171, en route to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, killing an unspecified number of passengers and crew.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people—including two pilots and ten cabin crew—went down outside the airport perimeter after issuing a mayday call, according to Indian aviation authorities.

Passenger manifest details released by officials list 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian among those onboard.

The crash site, located near a densely populated residential area in Gujarat’s capital, was engulfed in thick black smoke, visible from several kilometres away.

India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, stating that emergency response teams were swiftly deployed to the site. “My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families. We are ensuring immediate and coordinated relief efforts,” he said in a statement.

Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed the accident and described it as a “devastating event,” offering condolences to the victims’ families. The airline has activated an emergency response centre and helplines to assist affected families.

This latest incident adds to a troubling history of aviation disasters in India. Notable among them are the 1996 mid-air collision over New Delhi, which claimed nearly 350 lives, and the 2010 Mangalore crash that killed 158. The country’s deadliest aviation tragedy remains the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland, which killed all 329 onboard.

India’s aviation sector has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with domestic travel reaching over half a million passengers in a single day last year. Air India has been at the centre of a large-scale fleet expansion, having recently placed orders for hundreds of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.

An investigation into the cause of Thursday’s crash is underway.