Air India plane crash: Hours before crash, a flier on the same Boeing aircraft noticed ‘unusual things’

A passenger who claimed he flew on the same Air India aircraft just two hours before it crashed near Ahmedabad on Thursday said he noticed "unusual things" onboard.

"I was in the same damn flight 2 hours before it took off from AMD. I came in this from DEL-AMD. Noticed unusual things in the place. Made a video to tweet to Air India", said a person named Akash Vatsa on X.



More than 200 people were killed when Air India's Boeing 787 plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad.

ALSO READ: Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Air India passenger plane with over 200 onboard crashes near Meghaninagar

The plane, which took off at 1:38 p.m. and was bound for London Gatwick Airport, crashed into a dining facility at a local medical college. At least five students died, according to Minakshi Parikh, the dean of the college.

ALSO READ: Air India plane crash: One survivor found in seat 11A, currently under treatment

Footage and photos of the crash site showed plumes of black smoke coming from the wreckage and firefighters dousing charred residential buildings. The plane's tail appeared to be hanging out of a damaged building.

The airline said the plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was carrying 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Injured people were being taken to hospitals, the airline said, but it was unclear whether they had been on the ground or on the flight.

ALSO READ: Ahmedabad plane crash: List of India's most devastating air tragedies

The plane departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, which temporarily shut down after the crash. It had been scheduled to land in London at 6:25 p.m., London Gatwick Airport said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the crash was "heartbreaking beyond words" in a statement on social media. "In this sad hour," he added, "my thoughts are with everyone affected by it."