An Air India Boeing 787 with 242 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff

An Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning.

There were 242 people on board Flight 171, the airline said in a statement posted on X.

Data from Flightradar24 showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner reaching an altitude of 625 feet before tracking information stopped.

Images posted on social media appeared to show thick black smoke rising into the sky near the runway.

A statement from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said those on board included 10 cabin crew and two pilots.

Air India said 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian were on board.

"The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals," it added.

The plane, registered as VT-ANB, was first delivered to Air India in January 2014. Thursday's incident is the first hull loss of a 787.

Boeing stock fell sharply in premarket trading and was down more than 7% at 6:15 a.m. ET.

London Gatwick Airport, where Flight 171 had been due to land at 6:25 p.m. local time, confirmed that the plane crashed on departure.

According to a Reuters report, local police said the plane crashed in a residential area near the airport.

Air India updated its X profile picture and header to black images.

Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, India's civil aviation minister, said on X that he was "shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad."

"We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action."

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.