Flight AI171 was bound for London when it crashed into residential area of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff

More than 260 people have been killed after a London-bound Air India flight crashed in a residential area of Ahmedabad, with a British man being the sole survivor.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner heading for Gatwick was carrying 242 people when it crashed minutes after taking off at 1.38pm local time from Ahmedabad, the main city in the north-western state of Gujarat.

Footage showed the aircraft climbing away from the runway then sinking back down towards the ground, before disappearing behind trees and bursting into flames. The plane crashed into a hostel housing medical students, doctors and their families in the Meghani Nagar residential area and at least 24 people on the ground died.