(LONDON and DELHI) — An Air India airliner carrying 242 passengers and crew en route to the United Kingdom from India crashed shortly after takeoff, apparently killing all onboard the Boeing Dreamliner, local officials and the airline said.

“The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft,” the airline said in a statement posted on social media. “Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik told ABC News that it “appears that there are no survivors on the plane.”

The plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport, in India’s Gujarat state, Malik said Thursday. Boeing’s Dreamliner planes had not previously been involved in an incident where passenger fatalities were reported. This plane had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, which is considered average for this aircraft, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.

“We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information,” Boeing said in a statement.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane “fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter” immediately after it departed from the airport. Video from the site appeared to show the jet disappear below the tree line, which was followed seconds later by a ball of fire and a thick plume of gray smoke.

“Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site,” the Directorate General said in the statement.

India’s Central Industrial Security Force released photos from the site of the crash, which appeared to include civilians and emergency personnel working to put out flaming wreckage. One photo appeared to show the damaged tail of the airplane resting partially inside a hole in a building.

The Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he had “directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action” to respond to the crash.

“Rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,” the minister added.

GE Aerospace, the aircraft engine manufacturer, said in a statement they have also activated their emergency response team and are “prepared to support our customer and the investigation.”

The local governor, Bhupendra Patel, spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the crash to coordinate their emergency response, officials said. Patel said he ordered a so-called “green corridor” for emergency vehicles to travel between the crash site and local hospitals.

Modi in a statement confirmed that he’d been in touch with local officials.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” he said in a statement on social media. “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”

The airline initially announced the crash in a statement on social media, saying the flight had been “involved in an incident,” adding that it was “ascertaining the details” of the incident. The airline updated its social media profiles to display all-black profile pictures.

The flight was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad airport, which is officially Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, to London’s Gatwick Airport, according to FlightRadar24, a tracking site.

It had been scheduled to depart at 9:50 a.m. local time, with a planned arrival time in London at 18:25 p.m. local time. Gatwick in a statement confirmed the scheduled arrival time.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation in Ahmedabad, adding that his “thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”

“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.

The captain had 8,200 hours of experience and the copilot had 1,100 hours of flying experience, India’s Directorate General added.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be leading a team of U.S. investigators traveling to India to assist in the investigation of the crash.

All information regarding the investigation will be provided by the Indian government.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Ellie Kaufman, Clara McMichael, Sam Sweeney and Camilla Alcini contributed to this report.

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