Hours after an Air India flight bound for London crashed after takeoff in Ahmedabad, hope emerged from the rubble in the form of a man claiming to have survived the inferno.

The police confirmed the development on Thursday evening, even as there was still no official word on the final death toll from the tragedy.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, was found injured but alive at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

Multiple news outlets quoted him as saying he was seated in 11A on the ill-fated AI-171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members.

The aircraft had taken off at 13:39 pm and within minutes crashed into a residential area of Meghaninagar.

"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly," Vishwash told Hindustan Times, recounting the accident.

“There were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” he added, saying someone pulled him into an ambulance.

He has suffered injuries to his chest, eyes and feet.

NDTV reported a cellphone video circulating online that purportedly shows Vishwash limping in bloodstained clothes.

Ahmedabad police commissioner GS Malik confirmed, “One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet.”

Malik had earlier stated that the “possibility of survivors could not be ruled out” and that rescue operations were ongoing. Several people have been taken to hospital.

Vishwash, who had been living in London for 20 years, was in India visiting family.

He said he was travelling with his elder brother Ajay, who was also on the plane. Vishwash has not been able to trace his brother since the crash.

The Gujarat health department has said that DNA tests will be carried out to identify those who perished in the crash.

“Close relatives, such as parents or children of the deceased, can give samples at Kasoti Bhavan of BJ Medical College,” said Dhananjay Dwivedi, principal secretary of the state health department.

He declined to provide a figure on the fatalities.

The Air India aircraft had reportedly climbed to 825 feet before suddenly crashing. A mayday call was issued before it disappeared from radar, followed by a massive fireball seen from miles away.