India, June 12 -- An Air India aircraft carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed on Thursday afternoon, moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport.

Air India said that the flight - AI171 - was heading to London's Gatwick from Ahmedabad. Of the total passengers onboard, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. Follow LIVE updates here.

As reported by Hindustan Times, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad airport at 1:39pm from runway 23 and moments later, gave a MAYDAY call to the air traffic controllers.

An eyewitness on the ground recounted the plane crash horror and said that dead bodies and debris were scattered all over.

"I was at home when we heard a massive sound. W...