President William Lai (賴清德) expressed condolences to everyone affected by the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad yesterday, which killed at least 265 people on board and on the ground, saying that Taiwan is closely monitoring the situation.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was headed for London’s Gatwick Airport with 242 people on board, had only one survivor after it crashed into a medical college hostel at about noon shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad's main airport.
The passengers were 217 adults, and 13 children, including two infants, a source told Reuters.
Photo: Reuters
Air India said that 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British, seven were Portuguese and one was Canadian.
There were two pilots and 10 cabin crew, it added.
“We stand with the families and loved ones of the passengers on Air India flight AI171, as well as with the people of India, the UK and other countries affected by this devastating crash,” Lai wrote on X.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that it conveyed its condolences to the India-Taipei Association, while Taiwan’s representative office in India extended its sympathies to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
After checking with Taiwan’s representative offices in India, as well as with Indian authorities, it was confirmed that there were no Taiwanese onboard, MOFA said.
It would continue to work with its overseas offices to monitor developments, remain in contact with Indian authorities and provide necessary assistance, it added.
People traveling in India who require emergency assistance can call Taiwan’s representative office in India at 91-981-064-2658, or its branch offices in Mumbai at 91-885-084-2243 and Chennai at 91-960-009-9511, it said.
In addition, people can ask friends or family in Taiwan to call MOFA's emergency assistance hotline for those traveling abroad at 0800-085-095, it said.
It was the first crash involving a Dreamliner, a wide-body airliner that began flying commercially in 2011, the Aviation Safety Network database showed.
The plane that crashed yesterday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
The Tata Group, owner of Air India, yesterday announced that each family of those killed in the crash would receive compensation of 10 million rupees (US$116,186), Indian-language media reported.
The group said it would also pay medical costs for those who were injured and support the rebuilding of the hostel that the plane hit.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that a formal investigation has been initiated by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
Air India chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said that the investigation would take time and expressed "deep sorrow" about the crash.
Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to travel to India to analyze cockpit data, India's CNBC TV18 reported.
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said that the US Federal Aviation Administration was working with Boeing and GE in the investigation.
US officials said that they had not seen any immediate safety data that would require halting Boeing 787 flights.
Britain was also working with Indian authorities to establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said.
"The tragedy in Ahmedabad [in Gujarat state] has stunned and saddened us," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X. "It is heartbreaking beyond words."
Gujarat is Modi's home state.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images of the crash were "devastating."
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said that King Charles was being kept updated.
US President Donald Trump called the crash "terrible."
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