Air plane with 242 people onboard crashes in India's Gujarat

Indian aviation authorities have confirmed that there were 242 people on board the crashed plane, including two pilots and 10 flight attendants.

The flight took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat.

Reports said the passenger aircraft went down in the Meghani area of the city.

According to officials, immediately after the crash, authorities rushed over two dozen ambulances to the spot to carry out rescue work.

Video footage from the site aired on television news channels shows thick columns of smoke rising from the ground.

Police have diverted traffic from the area.

Officials, so far, have not issued any statement on the number of casualties in the crash.

India's civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu has expressed shock over the crash.

Sources: CGTN, China Daily and others