From BBC

• A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 people crashes in a residential area shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, western India
• Air India says 241 people on board the plane were killed – one passenger, a British national, survived and is receiving treatment in hospital
• India’s Home Affairs minister has met the survivor, named as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, in hospital while the BBC has spoken to a relative of his in Leicester
• Ramesh – who shared a picture of his boarding pass with reporters – says: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise… it all happened so quickly”
• There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight, Air India says
• The scale of the tragedy is truly, truly, massive… it feels apocalyptic, writes our correspondent Yogita Limaye from the scene

Disaster force officials still pouring in and out of the crash sitepublished at 15:2615:26

Zoya Mateen
Reporting from Ahmedabad

It’s coming up 02:00 (21:30 BST) here in Ahmedabad but the city is buzzing with activity. 

Legions of police vans patrol the streets. A steady stream of disaster force officials pours in and out of the site of the crash, which is still being cleared.

A gaggle of journalists remain perched near the barricades erected around the spot where the crash took place – they are not being allowed to go any closer to the debris. 

While the crowds have gone down, there are still civilians around, trying to help in way possible, from serving tea to policemen and helping clear the trash from the streets. 

What’s most striking, however, is the smell of smoke and burnt metal that lingers in the air, hours on from the crash.

1. UK Foreign Secretary Lammy chairs emergency Cobra meetingpublished at 15:1915:19Helen Catt
   Political correspondentThe BBC understands that Foreign Secretary David Lammy has chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, in response to the Air India plane crash.Share
2. Relatives wait as authorities work to identify bodiespublished at 14:5614:56Ishadrita Lahiri, Seraj Ali, and Shaili Bhatt
   Reporting from AhmedabadIMAGE SOURCE, EPAIt’s approaching 1:30 in India, but it does not seem so outside the post-mortem room at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Families and friends of those who’ve lost their lives in the crash wait to claim their bodies, but identification has become a difficult task. Authorities are trying to use DNA sampling, but the process is taking time. Outside the hospital, the BBC’s team meets T. Thanglingo Haokip, whose cousin, Singson, was cabin crew on Air India flight 171.Speaking to the BBC, Haokip explains that he has been trying for hours to get some information about Singson but has been unsuccessful.He says: “Her parents are worried. She only has a mother, her father passed away. Her brother has cancer. She was the only breadwinner in the family. Her family was wholly dependent on her.”There’s been a steady stream of bodies coming into the hospital for post-mortems after the crash.“Ever since the bodies started coming in, we’ve been examining them. We are exhausted. We have lost track of time,” a doctor in the hospital tells us.

1. Air India confirms sole survivor is British nationalpublished at 14:2914:29More from the Air India statement, which confirms that the sole survivor is a British national.”Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones,” the company says.It adds that it’s “giving its full-co-operation to the authorities investigating this incident”.Share
2. Air India confirms 241 people killed in crashpublished at 14:2114:21BREAKINGAir India has just issued a statement confirming that 241 people on board the plane have been killed.The airline adds that the “sole survivor” is being treated in hospital. Share
3. Official death toll to be released once DNA testing complete, minister sayspublished at 14:0914:09DNA testing of the victims of the plane crash is currently underway, a press release from Indian Home Affair Minister Amit Shah says.Shah, who has now visited the crash site after earlier speaking to survivors in hospital, says that only once DNA testing is complete will an official death toll be released.”On behalf of the government of India, the government of Gujarat, and the prime minister, I express deep condolences to all those who lost their lives,” the statement reads.Share
4. Rescue operation at crash site completed – Indian officialspublished at 13:5713:57BREAKINGThe rescue operation at the crash site in Ahmedabad has been completed, India’s civil aviation ministry says.

1. ‘It sounded like a bomb blast’published at 13:5313:53IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGESWarning: This post contains distressing details. BBC correspondent Roxy Gagdekar has been speaking to people at the scene of the crash in Ahmedabad.“We heard a loud noise. It sounded like a bomb blast,” one man says. “There was smoke and fire. I said, ‘let’s go and see’. Someone said that the plane had fallen,” he says, adding: “As soon as I got there, I saw that the plane was on fire. There were three people lying nearby.”Another man, a taxi driver who was working nearby, says: “When I saw the smoke, I ran there. I couldn’t go near the plane, there were dead bodies outside.”“The plane’s wing had come out on the main road. There was smoke everywhere,” he says.Share
2. Worshippers at Harrow service pray for those impactedpublished at 13:2413:24Sima Kotecha
   Senior UK correspondentAt a Hindu temple in Harrow, Middlesex, 60 or so worshippers have congregated to pray for those killed and hurt in the crash. The Metropolitan Police also has a presence here, with officers joining in with the musical prayers. The priest told the congregation it was a “dark day” as more news came in of the death toll. He emphasised this was not about one community but for all those who’ve been affected by what he called “a dreadful tragedy”.The congregation chanted continuously for at least 20 minutes with some members closing their eyes in prayer. The mood is solemn. But an elderly Indian woman told me prayer is providing much-needed comfort at this time. Share
3. Investigators will be searching for the plane’s black boxespublished at 13:0513:05IMAGE SOURCE, EPAImage caption, Contrary to the name, black boxes are often brightly coloured to make them easier to findThe answer to what went wrong for Air India Flight 171 may lie in the plane’s black boxes – small but sturdy electronic data recorders.Planes generally carry one to records sound from the cockpit so that investigators can hear what the pilots are saying and listen out for any unusual sounds that may give them a lead. A second also records flight data, like altitude and speed.Typically, black boxes are kept in the tail of the plane, thought to be the section that is typically least damaged in the event of a crash.We’re yet to hear whether the black boxes for Flight 171 have been recovered, but if they are, don’t expect immediate answers – it can sometimes take days or weeks to analyse the data.

1. Boeing CEO offers condolences to the victims and familiespublished at 12:5612:56IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERSBoeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg has now issued a statement about the crash, saying his thoughts are with the victims.”Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” he says. Ortberg says he spoke with Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran “to offer our full support”, and reiterates that Boeing will support an investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.ShareAir India plane crash – what we know so farpublished at 12:4512:45IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERSImage caption, The wreckage of the tail section of the crashed Air India plane seen stuck in a building in AhmedabadHere’s a quick recap of what we know at this point about the Air India plane crash at Ahmedabad’s airport:
   • The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board crashes into a residential area just moments after take-off at about 13:38 local time (09:08 BST) on Thursday
   • Dramatic footage later emerges showing the aircraft taking off before slowly coming down in a built-up area. Plumes of black smoke are then seen rising high into the sky after an explosion upon impact
   • Local police say 204 bodies have since been recovered from the crash site – it’s not known how many of those victims were on the plane, or were on the ground when the plane crashed
   • Ahmedabad’s police chief tells Indian media there is one survivor from the plane – he is reported to be a British national named Vishwashkumar Ramesh
   • There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight
   • At least 50 injured medical students are being treated in hospital after the plane crashed into a doctors’ hostel in the western Indian city
   • A search operation is continuing overnight at the massive crash site
   • Teams of US and UK specialists are heading to India to assist with the investigation
   Stay with us, as we’ll continue bringing you all the latest developments as well as photos and videos – as soon as we get them.ShareThis really just feels like an apocalyptic scenepublished at 12:3712:37Yogita Limaye
   South Asia and Afghanistan Correspondent, reporting from Ahmedabad00:38Media caption, BBC journalist shows devastation on the ground after India plane crashWhat strikes you as soon as you enter the area where the crash happened is this kind of burning smell in the air, which grows stronger and stronger.Where we are, there are still very acrid fumes. In front of me I can see the fire brigade, which is pointing a giant hose towards one of the buildings to put out the fire that is still burning, blazing inside.There’s a charred tree but I can see parts of it right at the top still smoking. I can see sparks from there and right next to me, there’s also a fallen tree, which is also smoking. Ever since I’ve walked in, I’ve just seen hundreds of rescue workers, scores and scores of police officers everywhere, ambulances.This is a massive plane that crashed – a Dreamliner aircraft – but you’ve got to be on the ground to just see the scale of devastation. The scale of the tragedy is just truly, truly, much more massive than perhaps what I had imagined when I got here. All you can see is charred bits and pieces, metal bits, bits of concrete blocks, bricks, strewn all about.I can see what appear to be parts of charred bits of the body of a plane, but I don’t think anybody can be sure of what that was. This really just feels like an apocalyptic scene. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a scene of such devastation from one incident which looks like this before.IMAGE SOURCE, YOGITA LIMAYE/BBC

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the news from India following today’s crash of a plane bound for London Gatwick in Ahmedabad is “absolutely devastating” and he “speaks for the entire country in saying our thoughts are with everyone involved”. 

Speaking to broadcasters, he says a UK team had been dispatched to Gujarat to join the investigation, and urges families and friends of anyone affected to contact the Foreign Office. 

“Our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of everyone affected who’ll be absolutely devastated by this awful news”, he says.

Indian minister meets British survivor in hospitalpublished at 12:1512:15BREAKING

Indian Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah has met people injured in the crash – including the man who seems to be the only survivor from the plane itself, British man Vishwashkumar Ramesh.

Footage from news agencies showed Shah meeting Ramesh in his hospital bed. Ramesh earlier spoke to reporters from hospital, while the BBC interviewed one of his relatives in Leicester.

Reported British survivor has ‘no idea’ how he escaped, say relativespublished at 12:0512:05

More now about the British national who is reported to have survived the plane crash.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh has “no idea” how he escaped the plane, his relatives say.

Speaking outside his family home in Leicester, Vishwashkumar’s brother Nayankumar, 27, says: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it”.

He says that Vishwashkumar told him after the crash: “I have no idea how I exited the plane.”

A relative called Jay says Vishwashkumar has spoken to his father asking about his brother Ajay, who is believed to have also been on the plane.

Vishwashkumar “got some injuries on his face. He was pretty much covered in blood – that’s what his dad said”, Jay adds.

For more on this story, video and live updates go to: BBC