'Devastating Loss': Nawaz Sharif Expresses Condolences Over Ahmedabad Flight Crash

Last Updated:June 12, 2025, 18:24 IST

More than 200 people are feared to have died after an Air India flight bound for London crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (AP file photo)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday expressed condolences over the Ahmedabad flight crash.

In a post on X, the President of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) said this devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity.

“My heartfelt condolences to the families of the precious lives lost in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. This devastating loss transcends borders and reminds us of our shared humanity. My deepest sympathies to Prime Minister Modi and the people of India," Sharif wrote on X.

More than 200 people are feared to have died after an Air India flight bound for London crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. There were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals onboard.

The aircraft crashed near the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of city civil hospital and BJ Medical College in Meghaninagar near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

The pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner issued a ‘Mayday’ distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after take-off, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.

“The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC," according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Visuals from the wreckage area showed charred bodies being pulled out and the injured, many with burns, wheeled into the city civil hospital close by.

There was no official estimate of those killed or injured from the crash, India’s second biggest air disaster since 2020 when an Air India Express flight skidded off a wet runway while landing at Kozhikode in Kerala and split into two. Of the 190 people on board, 21, including two pilots, lost their lives.

Eyewitnesses in Ahmedabad said the blaze was so intense that it led to at least one multi-storey building being burnt and trees being singed.

Airport operations in the city were temporarily suspended.

(With inputs from agencies)

Saurabh Verma

Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19

Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19

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Islamabad, Pakistan

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News world 'Devastating Loss': Nawaz Sharif Expresses Condolences Over Ahmedabad Flight Crash