India, June 12 -- A 'Mayday' distress call was given by the pilots of the Air India flight AI171, bound for London, that crashed shortly after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday.

A "Mayday" call is recognised globally as a life-threatening emergency alert made via radio communication. Follow Ahmedabad plane crash live updates

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that a "Mayday" distress call was issued by the flight shortly after it took off and minutes before it crashed into a locality - Meghaninagar.

According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39 pm (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a "Mayday" call, signalli...