A couple who lived in Auckland for five years have been named as victims of the India plane crash that killed more than 240 people.

Only one passenger survived after Air India flight 171, bound for London, crashed into a medical college hostel in the city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people. The sole survivor, who sat in seat 11A, jumped from the emergency exit.

Rachna and Rozar Christian, an Indian couple who lived in Auckland between 2016 and 2021 before moving to London, have been identified as two of the victims.

Venisha Christian, a friend of the couple, told the Herald she was still in denial over the accident.

Christian said she essentially grew up with Rozar at the same church in Ahmedabad, western India.

Rachna moved to New Zealand in 2016 on a student visa, where she studied at the Imperial College of New Zealand in central Auckland. Husband Rozar moved to be with her shortly afterwards.

The couple lived in Mt Roskill during their stay and worked part-time at a cleaning company.

“We used to catch up at prayer meetings every Friday [in Auckland] ... and we were in constant contact on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp,” Christian said.

“Due to visa conditions, they were not able to get residency and had to leave New Zealand. They couldn’t extend their work visas. I think they were in India for six months before moving to London.”

She said the couple, in their 30s, had been flying in and out of India over the past year with the hope of starting a family.

Their extended families, who live in India, had given their DNA to help identify their bodies. However, local media had already printed the names of all the passengers.

Rachna and Rozar Christian, who died in the Air India flight 171 plane crash, lived in Auckland for several years before moving to London.

“I’m still in denial. It can’t be possible,” Christian said.

“They were really nice, really genuine and good-hearted people. It’s very hard to explain what happened. It’s so wrong.”

Another friend, who did not want to be named, told the Herald they were a “beautiful couple” and said many people in Auckland knew them well.

“They were going back to London after a visit to India when this tragedy struck.

“Their uncle and aunt live in Auckland and are heartbroken by the news. We all are devastated as friends [and have had] no updates on the recovery of their bodies yet.”

The Indian Government has launched a formal investigation into the cause of the crash as rescue teams worked overnight, scouring the wreckage with dogs. It is believed people in the hostel were also killed.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai earlier told reporters that “265 bodies have reached the hospital”.

An AFP journalist reported seeing a building on fire in the immediate aftermath of the crash, and thick black smoke billowing in the air.

Parts of the plane could be seen strewn all over the crash site.

“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” a doctor told AFP.

“The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch.”

India’s civil aviation authority said 242 people were aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.

Air India said 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian were on the London-bound flight.