UPDATE - All 242 people aboard crashed Air India plane believed dead: Report

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By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - All 242 people on board a British-bound Air India flight that crashed in western India on Thursday are believed to have died, Outlook India reported.

At least 100 charred bodies were recovered from the plane, according to the eyewitnesses cited by the outlet.

One of the passengers is believed to be Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of Gujarat, the Western Indian state where the plane went down.

At least five students were also killed and several injured when the plane slammed into a medical school hostel.

Local officials have confirmed at least 50 people were injured in the vicinity of the crash site.

Eyewitnesses said that while some people were inside the hostel during the crash, its staff quarters were mostly empty, with most people out for lunch.

People on the ground injured by the crash, including women and children, were taken to hospitals.

Air India Flight AI171, carrying 242 people, crashed in the Meghaninagar residential area shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India’s western state of Gujarat, said India’s Civil Aviation Directorate General.

The airliner said 169 of the passengers on board were Indian nationals, plus 53 UK citizens, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada, in addition to two pilots and 10 members of the cabin crew.