All 242 people on board the Air India plane have died, local Indian media said, citing police.
The plane was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a residential area near the airport.
Experts say air accidents are caused by multiple factors coming together and it is too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Under global aviation rules, the crash will be investigated by India’s air accident agency with automatic support from the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States where the plane’s GE engines were designed and built.
Based on previous accident reports, investigators are likely to look at factors including the history of the flight, the condition of the wreckage including the engines, maintenance records and crew actions, as well as recordings from black boxes, whose recovery will be one of their main priorities.
