Dhaka, June 12 -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed deep sorrow over the tragic crash of a London-bound Air India passenger plane in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, which was carrying 53 British nationals.

"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating," Starmer said in a statement on Thursday.

Modi called the crash "heartbreaking beyond words."

"In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected," he said in a social media post.

Black smoke were seen billowed from the site where the plane went down in a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than five million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra ...