Hundreds killed in crash

MANY people are feared to have been killed after a Gatwick-bound plane carrying 53 British nationals appeared to explode when it crashed shortly after take-off.

- 

A video of the incident, obtained by local media, shows the Air India aircraft flying over a residential area before crashing, creating what appears to be a huge fireball followed by large plumes of black smoke.

Images of the aftermath of the crash showed parts of the plane embedded into a residential building as firefighters continued to tackle the smoke.

Pieces of the aircraft's landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the building.

The airline said the flight was departing from Ahmedabad Airport with 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Air India also said 169 passengers are Indian nationals, 53 are British, one is Canadian and seven are Portuguese.