UN mourns victims of plane crash in Gujarat

More than 240 people have been killed after a passenger aircraft crashed yesterday in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, drawing condolences and messages of solidarity from across the United Nations system.

Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply saddened" by the crash, which also killed students and staff on the ground when the aircraft plowed into a medical college hostel shortly after take-off. Only one passenger from the plane is reported to have survived.

"He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of India, as well as to all countries whose citizens were affected by this tragedy," the Secretary-General’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.

General Assembly President Philemon Yang described the crash as tragic in a post on X and extended his condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian people.

In its own social media posts, the UN in India said it was "heartbroken" by the news and expressed solidarity with the country "in this time of sorrow."

The crash, which occurred shortly after 1.30 p.m. local time, involved an Air India flight scheduled to travel from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.

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