LONDON and DELHI -- An Air India airliner carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members en route to the United Kingdom crashed into a building shortly after takeoff on Thursday, leaving 246 dead and at least one surviving passenger, local officials and the airline said.

Viswashkumar Ramesh, 40, the sole survivor of Air India Flight 171, is among the ranks of those spared by fate.

The notion that only one person survived the Air India plane crash that killed 241 people on board is sparking interest on social media about how that could happen and if such a thing has happened before.

An investigation is underway as to what caused an Air India airliner carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members to crash shortly after takeoff on Thursday.

Indian civil aviation officials said 232 passengers and 12 crew members were on board the plane when it crashed.

Social media video shows flames and thick smoke billowing into the air, as an Air India passenger plane, carrying 242 people, crashed shortly after takeoff. The plane had departed an airport in Ahmedabad,

The Air India plane crash that led to the death of over 240 passengers on Thursday has plunged the airline into its biggest crisis yet and will pose a significant challenge to its efforts to revamp its reputation and fleet.