Keir Starmer issues statement as London-bound Air India flight crashes

53 British nationals were on board the flight

Air India has announced that flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick was “involved in an incident today”.

In a statement Air India said “The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

“Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.

“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”

Starmer has responded to the news of the crash in a new statement.

"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.

"I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time."

Police say that the plane crashed in a “civilian area” just outside of Ahmedabad’s airport perimeter.

Flightradar shows that the plane’s final signal was received just moments after the aircraft took off. Its final signal was received at 10.08am local time, and it had reached a height of 625 feet.

Gatwick Airport have released a statement confirming that the plane was due to land there tonight.

“We can confirm that flight AI171 that crashed on departure from Ahmedabad Airport today was due to land at London Gatwick at 18:25,” they wrote.