NEW DELHI -- One passenger onboard the ill-fated plane that crashed in west India was rescued alive after several hours had lapsed since the tragedy occurred, confirmed a top cop on Thursday.

However, the identity of the lone survivor could not be ascertained yet.

"The police found one survivor in seat 11A. The survivor is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area," media reports quoted Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik as saying.

The Air India flight had 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on board when it crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat.

There were also 12 cabin crew members on board.