By Abiola Olawale
A catastrophic aviation disaster that happened on Thursday, when Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed moments after takeoff, has claimed the lives of 204 people.
This was confirmed by City police chief G.S. Malik, who told reporters that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site.
Malik also said no survivor has been found as of press time.The New Diplomat reports that the Air India flight went down tragically a few minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
According to official reports, the flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital.
