Pilots issued ‘Mayday Call’ just before crash; loses contact later

AHMEDABAD: More details have emerged over the Air India flight that crashed soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad. A ‘Mayday Call’ was issued by the flight soon after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport in Gujarat. The plane later lost contact.

The 'Mayday' call is given if faced a severe emergency in the event of a disaster. It is indicated that the plane crashed after the 'Mayday' call. The reason is that the plane did not receive a response from the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

The plane took off at 1.39 pm today and crashed within seconds. According to the DGCA, there were 242 people on board the plane, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. 53 of the passengers are British citizens. There were 169 Indians, seven Portuguese and one Canadian on board. Children are also there. It is not clear how many have lost their lives and how many injured in the disaster. Around 200 fire units have been deployed for the rescue operations.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also on the flight. He is in critical condition. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Malayalees are among the casualties.