British passenger survives Air India crash that killed hundreds

Police initially said they did not expect any survivors.

The British national, who the Mirror have named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was in seat 11a on the flight that crashed in Ahmedabad today.

Over 240 people were on board with police later saying that they did not expect any survivors.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said: "The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.

"Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area."

Air India flight AI171 took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad at 13:38 local time (09:08 BST) on Thursday (12 June).

However, barely a minute after the plane had taken off, it crashed into a densely populated area just beyond the airport perimeter.

Plane tracking app Flightradar24 shows the aircraft taking off from the airport only to disappear moments later.

Data from the app says the aircraft only reached 625ft (190m) before entering a negative climb rate, losing altitude and ultimately crashing into the ground.

Pilots gave a mayday call to air traffic control, however, reports say that the plane lost signal upon reaching its highest point with no subsequent contact being able to be made.

The aircraft in question is the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the Seattle-based manufacturer's most modern and high tech aircrafts, in operation for the last 14 years.

It is the first crash and hull loss of the type and will no doubt be a cause of concern for Boeing who have had a torrid few years.