No 10 Downing Street has warned the public to prepare for the worst after a “significant loss” of British lives were on board the London-bound Air India plane crash this morning.
The flight took off from Ahmedabad Airport in west India earlier today, but after climbing to 450ft quickly began to descend before crashing into a densely populated part of the city.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 passengers and crew including 53 British nationals when the pilot made a horrifying mayday call just moments before it came down. Indian authorities are yet to confirm the exact number Ahmedabad’s police chief told the BBC that 204 bodies have already been recovered from the site.
Local police added that the flight has one survivor, 40-year-old Londoner Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who has lived in the capital for the last 20 years. Vishwash was sitting in seat 11A, the Hindustan Times reported he still had his boarding pass with him.
Having been sat next to the emergency exit, he was reportedly able to jump off the plane. Speaking to the Hindustan Times: “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
But now the PM has warned Brits to prepare for the worst. Asked if the public should prepare for a significant loss of life, a No 10 spokesman said: “Yes. As the PM said this morning, the scenes emerging of the London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.
“Clearly this is a deeply distressing time for families. The situation is still unfolding.”
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Early reports suggest some of the first victims to be named were London-based Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, a couple who ran a wellness clinic and retreat in Lambeth.
Just two days ago the couple posted a video from a boutique hotel in Gujarat city, explaining how they’d loved their trip. The Telegraph reports Fiongal said: “So it’s our last night in India and we have had a magical experience really, there have been some quite mind-blowing things that have happened.”
In a direct statement, Kier Starmer added: “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.”
Earlier today Foreign Secretary David Lammy, echoed the PM and revealed the UK had set up crisis teams in both London and Delhi to help support the victims and their families.
News of the British victims is continuing to grow as Leicester East MP Shivani Raja told the BBC that she understands that “a handful” of the city’s residents were on board the crashed plane although she was still waiting for official reports.
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