The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground.

One man on board the plane, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, miraculously survived Thursday’s fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.


The nose and front wheel of Air India flight 171 landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kanan Desai, said that 265 bodies had been counted so far, which suggested that at least 24 people were killed on the ground. The toll could rise further as more body parts are recovered.

DNA samples will be taken from family members of the dead who live abroad, he said.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the devastated neighbourhood on Friday and was also pictured by survivor Ramesh’s bedside.