From Ahmedabad's crash site, stories of horror, panic and a narrow escape
Keyur Anatomy, 27, a second-year postgraduate resident doctor at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, was on duty when he heard a loud noise and thick black smoke rising into the sky outside the window. Within minutes, the phones of Anatomy and his colleagues started ringing.
Anatomy said it took them some time to figure out that a London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 people had crashed nearby minutes after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport. 'I was at the civil hospital on duty when I looked outside the window and saw black smoke. Within seconds, our phones...started to ring. It took me another two to three minutes to understand what had happened,' said Anatomy.
Anatomy said the plane crashed into and severely damaged four buildings on their campus, including an undergraduate (UG) hostel mess and quarters of the superspeciality doctors who live there with their families.
Anatomy rushed to the crash site around a km away and started putting the injured into ambulances. 'The first person I helped get out of the superspeciality doctors' quarters was a young woman who had sustained severe burn injuries. Before we could take her to the hospital, she succumbed in the ambulance. Many others sustained serious burn injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.'
Scores of students were having lunch at the mess of the BJ Medical College hostel mess when the plane crashed.
Rohan Bagade, an intern at the hospital, said luck saved him as he left the mess shortly before the crash. 'If I had stayed in the mess for maybe another 15 minutes, I would have been one of the many injured. I had just finished my lunch and came back to my hostel. That is when I heard a loud bang, like a blast. I rushed outside and saw the sky filled with black smoke, and the rest is now public knowledge.'
Ayush, another resident doctor at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital, said the crash sparked chaos at the mess in Meghani Nagar. 'Our friends and juniors have been seriously injured and are being treated at the Civil Hospital now,' said Ayush.
Dr Dhruvit, a PG student, said since the civil hospital is close by, there are multiple hostels around the area. He added that the crash coincided with the lunch timings between 12:30 and 2:30pm. '...UG students from nearby hostels go there. When the incident occurred, around 150–200 people were inside the mess, including resident doctors and mess workers.'
A fourth doctor said students and mess staff were injured. 'Those who have been injured have suffered both burns and other serious injuries.' He added that they were getting panic calls from families and friends.
The medical college authorities did not immediately provide any confirmation about the casualties.
The plane headed for Gatwick Airport crashed in a populated area near the airport. A portion of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was perched atop the medical college hostel building. Visuals showed the plane taking off and fire rising into the sky seconds later over a residential area.
It is the first such crash in India since 2020 when an Air India Express plane overshot a tabletop runway at Kerala's Kozhikode, skidded off the runway, plunged into a valley nose-first, leaving 21 passengers dead.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
40 years after a deadly plane crash, Gujarat hospital at ground zero again
Its 100 acre campus – which has four four-storey buildings and two-storey dining halls and hostel buildings – bore the brunt of India's worst single-aircraft crash this week. But Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College in Ahmedabad was also at the heart of the rescue-and-relief operations four decades ago when 133 people died in another tragic air crash just 2.5km from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport. 'It was the backbone during the 1988 Indian Airlines air crash in Ahmedabad, where there were only 2 survivors,' said Dr MF Shaikh, former head of the burns and plastic surgery department, BJ Medical College. Shaikh was referring to the October 19, 1988 tragedy of flight 113, which crashed on its final approach to Ahmedabad airport. He said since the medical college was in close proximity to the airport, many of the passengers were brought in for treatment. Established in 1871 as Ahmedabad Medical School with only 14 students, BJ Medical College is the oldest medical college in Gujarat and among the oldest in India. It has one main campus in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood, where a 2,500 bed hospital stands. Another 1,200 bed hospital came up within the same campus in 2019. The government-run Civil Hospital shares the same compound. Thursday's crash took place close to the main campus area, with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner hitting the medical college's hostel buildings and dining halls. While the four hostel buildings' facade was charred, the two mess buildings were partially collapsed. 'Every year, 256 MBBS students secure admission here, apart from over 400 post graduation seats,'said Ahmedabad-based Dr Javed Vakil, a senior consultant nephrologist at Aartham Multi Super Speciality Hospital. Dr Vakil said over 300 kidney transplants are conducted in the government-run institute annually, and patients come from distant corners of the state. 'In 1879, a generous donation of ₹20,000 by Sir Byramjee Jeejeebhoy led to the school being renamed BJ Medical School. The institution steadily expanded, securing affiliation with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bombay in 1917 and later with Bombay University in 1946, earning its status as BJ Medical College, offering London College of Professional Studies diplomas,' said the hospital website. The postgraduate courses are offered across 24 branches and super speciality courses are offered across 11 branches. The hospital was also the backbone during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake relief, the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack, and medical emergencies such as the 2009-10 swine flu outbreak and the 2020-21 pandemic. 'This hospital has been handling such mass casualties since the beginning,' said Dr Shaikh. 'In fact, the Civil Hospital saw its worst time when the trauma centre was bombed in the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings. Yet, the hospital did not come to a standstill.'
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Snehasis Das tops Odisha in NEET-UG, bags all-India rank 60
BHUBANESWAR: Snehasis Das has emerged as the state topper in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test UG (NEET-UG)-2025, results of which were declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday. With a percentile of 99.997, Das has secured an all-India rank (AIR) of 60. Rajasthan's Mahesh Kumar secured AIR-1 with a percentile of 99.9999547. Kumar was closely followed by Utkarsh Awadhiya of Madhya Pradesh (99.9999095) who bagged the second rank while Krishang Joshi of Maharashtra was ranked AIR-3 with a percentile of 99.9998189. National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi's Avika Aggarwal with a percentile of 99.9996832, who secured AIR-5, was the topper among women candidates. Das is a student of DPS-Kalinga and this was his first attempt at NEET-UG. The 18-year-old is keen on joining the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at New Delhi. 'I used to give six to seven hours everyday towards self-study and also went through coaching here. The mock test analysis was an important part of my preparations,' he said. Keen on pursuing medical science from an early age, Das said he had started his preparations after clearing Class X. Five other students from Odisha have also bagged ranks in different categories. Pabitra Sethi has scored 99.99 percentile to secure a NEET rank of 180. He is among the top-10 in SC category nationally. Similarly, two differently-abled girls Baishali Moharana and Saima Mirza have secured first and fifth ranks respectively in the list of top-5 female candidates in Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category in the country. While Baishali has scored 99.05 percentile with NEET rank of 20,496, Saima got 98.45 percentile and a rank of 33,389.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Rajasthan rolls out health camps in remote tribal areas under Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh; camps till June 30
JAIPUR: As part of Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh, the Rajasthan health department has launched a targeted healthcare campaign in tribal-dominated regions, beginning Sunday and continuing until June 30. The initiative includes village and cluster-level medical camps, Ayushman Bharat card distribution, and health screenings. Camps will be held in 27 tribal-populated districts, specifically in areas located over 5 km from the nearest health facility. An official said the camps will operate with the support of local administration, frontline health workers, and inter-departmental coordination. Services include screenings for sickle cell disease, and assistance in generating ABHA IDs and Ayushman Bharat cards. JAIPUR: As part of Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh, the Rajasthan health department has launched a targeted healthcare campaign in tribal-dominated regions, beginning Sunday and continuing until June 30. The initiative includes village and cluster-level medical camps, Ayushman Bharat card distribution, and health screenings. Camps will be held in 27 tribal-populated districts, specifically in areas located over 5 km from the nearest health facility. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo An official said the camps will operate with the support of local administration, frontline health workers, and inter-departmental coordination. Services include screenings for sickle cell disease, and assistance in generating ABHA IDs and Ayushman Bharat cards. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
