Air India plane crash live updates: One black box recovered after airline confirms 241 on board killed

Mark Wright has apologised for an “inappropriate” post shared shortly after more than 240 people died in the Air India plane crash.

The plane flying to London Gatwick crashed into a hostel building in Gujarat five minutes after taking off.

Soon after, The Only Way is Essex star Wright, 38, shared a post complaining about leg room on standard planes, using a photo of himself and his wife Michelle Keegan, with their baby daughter, in front of a private jet.

He captioned the post: “One day babe – for now, we’ll take row 26 with no extra leg room.”

After his followers issued complaints at the timing of the post, with one commenting: “Not really appropriate to put this up after today’s plane crash,” Wright immediately removed it.

Arunbhai Mangal Bhai Parmar, 38, was in the kitchen of his sixth-floor apartment when he saw the aircraft suddenly drop from the sky.

“It was flying straight and then suddenly, it stopped,” he said. “It didn’t move forward at all—just stopped mid-air. And then the blast happened.”

Mr Parmar attempted to run towards the crash site but was held back. “This is also a police compound with many paramilitary camps, so forces rushed there immediately and we weren’t allowed in.”

He said rescue efforts could only begin after the fire brigade arrived. “The fire was so intense that nothing could start until they got there. It took about 30 minutes for them to reach.”

“I wanted to help, to save someone,” he said. “But the explosion was massive, and there was fire everywhere. Even if I tried, I couldn’t have done anything. The police quickly barricaded the area.”

A British national miraculously survived the Air India disaster in which a Boeing 787 crashed and exploded moments after taking off, killing more than 240 people.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, suffered relatively minor injuries and jumped out of an emergency exit next to his seat after Thursday’s crash in the western city of Ahmedabad. His brother Ajay, who was also on the plane, is missing and presumed dead.

There were 242 passengers and crew on board flight AI171 to London Gatwick when it plunged into the accommodation block of a medical college. Fifty students were taken to hospital for treatment and five are missing, say officials.

Shahana Khatoon, 30, was washing utensils at the medical college hostel when disaster struck.

“It was around 2pm (local time) when I heard a huge explosion,” she told The Independent.

“There was complete darkness due to the black air after the plane explosion. We could see nothing. At first, I thought it was a big storm or something.”

Panic spread quickly as the reality of the situation became clear. “Soon people started saying that a plane had crashed and we must run. There was so much debris and dust—I cannot tell you. I was very scared. I just evacuated,” Ms Khatoon said.

She was with an elderly friend and her granddaughter at the time of the crash.

“Neither have been found yet. We are still looking for them,” she said.

Most of the debris from the crash site has been cleared this morning.

From a distance, little remains visible, except for the building where the plane crashed, now blackened by the explosion and impact.

There is a heavy deployment of police, paramilitary forces and disaster rescue forces for prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

Police barricades remain in place, with only government vehicles allowed through.

Despite the heightened security, normal life in the surrounding civilian neighbourhood appears to have resumed, with pupils seen boarding their rides as usual.

Aircraft flying between the UK and India overnight have been diverted because of Israel’s attack on Iran.

Five Air India flights between London Heathrow and India were diverted to cities including Sharjah and Vienna, or returned to the airport of origin.

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, this morning visited the site of the deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad and met the sole survivor at the hospital.

In a post on X, he said: “The scene of devastation is saddening.”

“Met officials and teams are working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy,” he added.

A British couple who run a spiritual wellness company in London posted a video from the airport about their “magical experience” in India as they waited to board the doomed Air India flight.

Jamie Ray Greenlaw-Meek and Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek are among 53 British nationals who were booked to fly on the aircraft, which crashed on Thursday with 242 passengers onboard, moments after take off.

In a video shared onto their company The Wellness Foundry’s Instagram account, Fiongal, a former fashion designer, said: “We are at the airport, just boarding, goodbye India”. His husband then joked about the lengthy 10-hour flight.