'With profound sorrow ...': Tata Group issues statement after Air India plane crash

Tata Group chairperson N Chandrasekaran issued an official statement following the Air India passenger plane crash on Thursday. "With profound sorrow, I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event," he stated.

"At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted. Further updates will be shared as we receive more verified information. An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families seeking information," Chandrasekaran also said.

Meanwhile, airline stocks tumbled today after the Air India carrier crashed. Tata Group is the owner of Air India. Shares of Tata Group companies slipped today. Tata Investment Corporation cracked 3.62 per cent and Tata Chemical fell 2.55 per cent. Tata Power, Tata Elxsi, Tata Steel, Tata Consumer Products and Tata Technologies slipped over 2 per cent, each.

In addition, shares of TAAL Ent shares were last seen down 3.84 per cent while IndiGo slipped 3.01 per cent. SpiceJet and Global Vectra shed 1.85 per cent and 0.96 per cent, respectively.

Globally, shares of Boeing were trading lower in the pre-market trading session, sliding 5.14 per cent.

The plane - Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was heading to London from Ahmedabad. Aviation regulator DGCA said there were 242 people on board the aircraft consisting of 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew.

"The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is a LTC with 8200 Hrs of experience. The copilot had 1100 Hrs of flying experience. As per ATC, aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23," it stated.