Vishwaskumar Ramesh, the only survivor of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, said he "thought I would die" as he recovers in hospital.

Air India has confirmed that one passenger survived Thursday's airplane crash, which had 242 passengers and crew members on board.

The plane, which was headed to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off. More than 200 bodies have been recovered.

An Air India plane with more than 200 people on board crashed near the airport in India's city of Ahmedabad, the airline and police officials said.

The London-bound plane struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 on board and at least 29 on the ground.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take off on Thursday in what is one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed. It struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.

Air India plane, flight AI171, bound for London with 244 people onboard, crashed as it took off from Ahmedabad airport.