A private airline’s flight from Kolkata to Ahmedabad returned to NSCBI Airport here on Thursday after getting airborne since the destination was closed after an Air India aircraft crashed shortly after take-off, officials said.

IndiGo flight 6E-318, which departed from Kolkata at 1.49 pm, came back after being airborne, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson in Kolkata said.

The flight which had departed from stand number 53, had 179 passengers on board.

The aircraft returned to Kolkata around 2.52 pm, the spokesperson said.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft that crashed was carrying 242 passengers and crew members. Of these, 169 are Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian national, Air India said.

Several casualties are feared.

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