New Delhi, June 12 -- A London-bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday, killing all 242 people on board, according to preliminary reports. The flight, AI171, went down in a densely populated residential area shortly after issuing a Mayday call.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal expressed grief over the devastating loss of life.

"We have lost a lot of people. Very tragic accident, extend our deepest condolences to people who lost loved ones," Jaiswal said in a statement.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Runway 23 at 1:39 PM IST and soon after, issued a Mayday call. There was no...