AHMEDABAD, India: Rescuers searched for missing people and aircraft debris in charred buildings in Ahmedabad on Friday after more than 240 people were killed in an Air India Boeing 787 crash, and as local media reported that India was considering grounding the airline’s 787 fleet for safety checks.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London took off over a residential area and disappeared from view before a huge fireball was seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses, CCTV footage showed.
Only one passenger survived after the plane crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour, with local media reporting as many as 24 people on the ground were also killed. Reuters could not immediately verify the number.
Rescue workers had completed combing the crash site and were now searching for missing people and bodies in the buildings as well as for aircraft parts that could help explain why the plane crashed soon after taking off.
Local media reported that one of two black boxes from the 787 had been found. Reuters could not verify the reports, which also did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered.
