Air India said that the 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound passenger plane that crashed on Thursday included 169 Indian passengers, as well as British, Canadian and Portuguese nationals.

"The flight... was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft", it said in a statement. Among the 230 passengers, "169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals", it said.

"The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals," it said, adding that "Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident".