A view of the building where the plane crashedpublished at 05:21 British Summer Time 13 June
05:21 BST 13 June
Our reporter Vikas Pandey took this photo today of the damaged buildings at the crash site. As we have been reporting, the plane crashed into a doctors' hostel, an accommodation for local medical professionals.
Image source, Vikas Pandey/BBC
Image caption,
An aerial view of the building where the plane crashed
'It's almost inexplicable' - aviation expert on sole survivorpublished at 05:18 British Summer Time 13 June
05:18 BST 13 June
British man Vishwashkumar Ramesh was the only person to survive the plane crash in Ahmedabad.
"This is almost unheard of" Guy Gratton, associate professor of aviation and the environment at Cranfield University tells BBC Newsnight.
"A modern airliner is designed to be crashworthy" meaning "if a crash happens everybody has the best possible chance of surviving," he says.
Because of this,"either you see a large number of survivors, or you see none because the accident was so severe. So to see one is really unusual," Gratton adds.
He says if he has to guess, Ramesh's seat - in 11A - could have been "thrown clear" from the plane in the crash, with him still in it, and he was "just incredibly lucky".
Lots of activity at hospital as Modi visitspublished at 05:06 British Summer Time 13 June
05:06 BST 13 June
Arunoday Mukharji Reporting from Ahmedabad
I’m at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad where there’s a lot of activity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just reached here to meet the people who were injured when the plane crashed into the doctors' hostel close to the airport.
We know 241 people on board the plane were killed, but officials haven’t yet released the number of casualties on the ground or those injured after the plane hit the building.
The media has been stopped a few metres away from the hospital. There’s heavy police presence.
Image caption,
Heavy police presence outside the civil hospital
Image caption,
The media has been stopped a few metres away from the hospital that Modi is visiting
Modi arrives at the hospitalpublished at 04:57 British Summer Time 13 June
04:57 BST 13 June
We're now bringing you visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaching the civil hospital in Ahmedabad. He is expected to meet injured people and the families of victims.
India announces a formal investigation into crashpublished at 04:22 British Summer Time 13 June
04:22 BST 13 June
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Aircraft debris seen at the crash site
Last night, India announced a formal investigation into the Air India crash.
Federal Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated the investigation in line with international protocols.
"Additionally, the government is constituting a high-level committee comprising experts from multiple disciplines to examine the matter in detail," Kinjarapu said in a post on X. "The committee will work to strengthen aviation safety and prevent such incidents in future."
On Thursday, Chris Rocheleau from the Federal Aviation istration (FAA) in the US had said that an "expert team" was on its way to India to help investigate the crash.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said a team from the country had been dispatched to Gujarat to the investigation.
Airport centres set up to help relatives travel to Ahmedabadpublished at 03:59 British Summer Time 13 June
03:59 BST 13 June
Air India says it has set up assistance centres for friends and relatives at Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Gatwick airports "to provide and take care of the needs of the families and loved ones".
"These centres are facilitating the travel of family to Ahmedabad," the airline says in a tweet.
UK couple on plane shared video from airport before boardingpublished at 03:43 British Summer Time 13 June
03:43 BST 13 June
Image source, Instagram
Image caption,
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek posted an Instagram story before their flight
A UK couple who filmed a video of themselves laughing and joking
at the airport before taking off were among the 53 British nationals who were onboard the Air India flight.
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual
wellness centre, posted an Instagram story referencing a "10-hour flight
back to England".
In an earlier post, they recalled their
"mind-blowing" trip to India and said they wanted to make a vlog
about it.
Nick Meek, Jamie's brother, told the Times newspaper:
"It's a lot to take in and we only heard this news a couple of hours
ago."
Who owns Air India?published at 03:14 British Summer Time 13 June
03:14 BST 13 June
Peter Hoskins Business reporter in Singapore
Air India was bought by the country's biggest multinational business Tata Group just over three years ago.
The airline, which was founded in 1932 and was originally a Tata-owned company, had been under government ownership since 1953.
Established in 1868, Tata Group is known as the "salt to software" conglomerate, with operations around the world ranging from telecoms to defence manufacturing and hotels to online retail.
It owns a number of global brands including British luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Steel and tea firm Tetley.
Too early to consider grounding Boeing 787 flights, US suggestspublished at 02:32 British Summer Time 13 June
02:32 BST 13 June
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Sean Duffy says his heart goes out to the families of the victims
At a news conference earlier, US transport officials were asked if there was "anything that would lead you to believe that the 787 fleet needs to be grounded">And Duffy adds: "They have to get on the ground and take a look. Again, right now it'd be way too premature."
What does the crash mean for Boeing?published at 01:50 British Summer Time 13 June
01:50 BST 13 June
Nick Marsh Transport correspondent
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft was launched in 2011
Last month, Boeing celebrated carrying its billionth enger on the 787 Dreamliner - an impressive feat given it only launched 14 years ago.
Until today's tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad, the model was a mainstay of intercontinental travel and had an exemplary safety record.
So far, there is nothing to suggest any fault on Boeing's side today in India. A much fuller picture will come once the plane's black boxes - the electronic recording devices that store vital flight information - have been recovered.
One pilot I spoke to said that nowadays it's rare for a manufacturer fault to cause a fatal incident.
It's also important to that when you fly commercially, you will almost always either be on a Boeing or an Airbus model as the plane-making industry operates as an effective duopoly.
Even so, Boeing has found its name associated with yet another tragic aviation incident.
'I wonder if I’ll be able to take the flight ever again'published at 00:52 British Summer Time 13 June
00:52 BST 13 June
Zoya Mateen Reporting from Ahmedabad
It was just two months ago in April, that Amaan Mansuri took the same AI171 flight that crashed today to return to London, where he works.
“I had come down to Ahmedabad to celebrate Eid with my family. I’ve taken the same flight, same route three times before, it was like a routine for me and I’ve never felt unsafe.”
Until now. Mansuri says he’s "shocked, terrified and in disbelief" since he heard about the crash.
"Sitting here, I am still processing what happened. I wonder if I’ll be able to take the flight ever again."
British couple and four-year-old daughter among victimspublished at 00:24 British Summer Time 13 June
00:24 BST 13 June
Image source, Family handout
Britons Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara are among the victims of the crash, it's been confirmed.
Abdullah Samad, the headteacher of Sara's primary school describes Sara as a "ray of sunshine" who "lit up the classroom".
Samad says the married couple, from Gloucester in England, were well-known for their charity work and generosity: "They touched lots of people and they will be missed by lots of people.
"They helped fundraise for the humanitarian efforts in Gaza and medical care for poor individuals in India. That was part of their service to the community," he says.
'What are we to do">Zoya Mateen Reporting from Ahmedabad
Sameer Shaikh says his son, Irfan - a crew member with Air India - didn’t call him very often, but he always informed him before taking off and after landing a flight.
So when Shaikh received a call in the afternoon from the airline, he says he was confused - his son was supposed to be on his way to London on duty.
“But instead, we found out he died in a crash.”
Shaikh, who lives in Pune city, immediately flew down to Ahmedabad with his family to collect his son's body.
He says an Air India official at the Civil Hospital helped him with the identification procedure required to claim the body.
“But police didn’t let us take my son back. They asked us to come back in three days, after the DNA sampling all the victims was completed,” he alleges.
Devastated, he and his wife have been pacing the hospital premises, looking for help and answers.
“What are we to do?” He asks, pointing to his crestfallen wife, who sits in a corner of the street, sobbing inconsolably. "How can we wait three days when we know it’s our son?”