Tears, prayers and pain: Families outside hospital after Air India plane crash

India Today

2 days ago

There were saddening pictures all around after an Air India plane crashed near Ahmedabad International Airport and hit two structures, a canteen building and a hostel of BJ Medical College Civil Hospital on Thursday afternoon. Relatives and friends of those killed and injured were seen in tears and expressing deep shock and agony, knowing their loved ones were affected by the tragic turn of events.advertisementAir India's AI-171 flight en route to London crashed moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Authorities said 204 people on board the plane were killed, while those staying at the hostel were reportedly injured as well.Getting the unfortunate news of the crash, relatives and friends of those affected reached Ahmedabad hospitals where the injured were being treated.
As media professionals and locals gathered outside the civil hospital, an Ahmedabad resident broke down while requesting authorities to let him inside the medical facility to get an update about his family members. Officials were trying to explain the situation to the man who seemed inconsolable. Another man, visibly anxious, reached the civil hospital in Ahmedabad to check on his sister and brother-in-law who were on board the ill-fated plane.advertisement"My sister and brother-in-law are both inside, but they are not letting us go in. They were going to London. My niece is in London, and they were going to see her. She called me up from London to say that her parents were on the flight, and then I rushed here," he told news agency ANI."My sister-in-law and her husband are inside (the hospital). They were going to meet their daughter. She called me up to tell me that her parents were on the way to see her. I didn't know about it," another woman waiting outside the civil hospital for an update on her relatives said.Mahendra Vasandiya, a relative of one of the passengers on board the flight, said his younger brother and his wife were on the flight to London. He said he got the news through the media. "I have no update on their present situation," he said.Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) Doctors' Association chief patron, Dr. Rohan Krishnan said that at least 50 people were injured after the plane crashed on the hostel buildings."We have got information that the aeroplane crashed on the premises of BJ Medical College. There is damage to the MBBS students' hostel and the residential block of super-speciality doctors. We have received information about injuries to 50 people. Five people could not be identified yet," he said.advertisementMeanwhile, the government has launched an investigation into the flight crash, which turned out to be one of the worst aviation disasters in the world in the last decade or so.Among those on board were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national, and seven Portuguese nationals.Condolence messages have poured in from across the world, with top leaders expressing shock, calling it a devastating and tragic incident.With ANI inputsMust Watch