Ahmedabad plane crash:
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 14 (ANI): Junior Doctor's Association of BJ Medical College on Saturday confirmed that four MBBS students lost their lives after the London-bound Air India flight rammed into the doctor's hostel shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.
In a statement, Junior Doctor's Association on Saturday said that the students were having lunch at the mess when the plane crashed into the building, killing four and injuring 20 MBBS students. Of the injured, 11 have been discharged.
'In reference to the recent plane crash incident, JDA- BJMC clarifies that a total of 4 MBBS students from B.J. Medical College, who were having lunch in the mess building, have sadly passed away. Out of the 20 MBBS students injured in the accident, 11 have been discharged with a stable condition,' the statement read.
The association also urged people not to be misled by rumours of a higher death toll among students and resident doctors in the plane crash.
'Some individuals are spreading rumours suggesting a high death toll among medical college students and resident doctors. We appeal to everyone not to be misled by such misinformation and to refrain from spreading rumours further.'
According to the association, four family members of super-speciality doctors who were residing in 'Atulyam' building in the college campus also died.
'Among the family members of Super Specialty doctors residing in the 'Atulyam' building, 4 have tragically died. Additionally, the wife of one resident doctor from the Super Specialty department has been injured and is currently under treatment. The condition of all admitted patients is stable and they are recovering quickly,' the statement read.
Air India earlier confirmed the death of 241 people out of the 242 on board in the plane crash.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order to extend the scrutiny of the Boeing Dreamliner 787 series planes present in the Indian Aircraft fleet, said Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu
Naidu further stated that around eight Boeing 787 Series aircraft have already been scrutinised and inspected with immediate urgency.
Addressing a press conference here, the Union Civil Aviation Minister said, 'We have very strict safety standards in the country...When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the Boeing 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected, and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.' (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
US-bound scholars carry cares of the word on shoulders
An Indian researcher applying for a doctoral position in medicine at a leading US university earlier this year decided to drop any mention of LGBTQ+ health disparities from the grant proposal. The project was reframed as a data-driven analysis of demographic trends in patient outcomes, instead of spotlighting gaps in healthcare access for sexual minorities. The core research remained the same, but the language was 'sanitised' to sidestep any political red flags in a shifting American research environment. As the Donald Trump administration's war on diversity, equity and inclusion ( DEI ), climate action and public health research intensifies, Indians seeking US grants and PhD positions are rethinking how to frame, and sometimes where they pursue, their academic ambitions, said consultants. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Struggling with Slow Internet? Read This First Search7 Learn More Undo 'The concern, especially for those applying for PhD or post-doctoral positions, is two-fold — first, the fear that their proposed research might not receive funding and second, that even if funded, their work could be undermined or prematurely terminated if it falls out of favour politically,' said Vibha Kagzi, founder of (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Subject areas such as climate science, DEI and public health are increasingly being viewed as 'politically sensitive,' she said, prompting students to reassess whether their proposals are 'safe' to get through repurposed US funding filters. Live Events Since February, more than 2,100 National Institutes of Health grants worth $9.5 billion have been cancelled. At Harvard University alone, $2.7-billion National Science Foundation grants have been withheld. Termination Biggest Fear Universities including Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Northwestern have faced funding freezes, affecting everything from Alzheimer's research to robotics. Piyush Kumar, regional director for South Asia, at IDP Education, said the ripple effects of the cancellations are evident. 'The recent adjustments to federal funding have impacted some top US institutions, especially those heavily reliant on government grants. This has affected a segment of students applying for Fall 2025 PhD intakes, with some reporting delays or pauses in research-related admissions due to funding constraints.' ForeignAdmits founder Nikhil Jain said anxiety levels among applicants are unprecedented. 'The biggest fear isn't about getting rejected: it's having funding pulled after you're already there,' he said. 'We've had students where NIH terminated their advisor's grant mid-PhD, and suddenly they're scrambling to find new funding or face visa issues.' Jain and his team are working closely with students to strip politically sensitive terminology from proposals. 'Any mention of DEI is toxic now, as is 'underrepresented communities'. Climate change has become 'extreme weather events'. We tell students to avoid 'structural racism', 'reproductive health equity' and 'environmental justice'. I've seen applications get flagged for using 'critical theory' or even 'gender' in the context of medical research. Students are self-censoring to an extreme degree,' he said. Many applicants are preparing two versions of their research statements—one for US funders, another for European bodies like the European Research Council (ERC). Interest in European destinations has surged, with enquiries for ERC grants up 13% since April, according to Jain. Acknowledging a 'tactical' shift in student applications, Kagzi said, 'While the core intellectual enquiry often remains intact, the language, framing and even methodology are being recalibrated.' Researchers are adding quantitative models, machine learning components or economic competitiveness angles to make their work more fundable, she said. Abhijit Zaveri, founder of Career Mosaic, said many applicants are opting for 'topics with broader applicability that might not attract undue attention, or raise questions in sensitive areas'.
The Print
6 hours ago
- The Print
11 DNA matches 48 hrs after Air India crash: Process of releasing victims' bodies to families begins
By Saturday, the hospital had found 11 matches from the 248 blood samples of relatives it has taken so far. The bodies, most charred beyond recognition, were subjected to a DNA test. The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital also collected the DNA samples of all the relatives of the passengers and crew members who were onboard the aircraft. Ahmedabad: Forty-eight hours after an Ahmedabad-London Air India flight crashed within 2 minutes of taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad, authorities started handing over bodies of victims to the next of kin. 'The mortal remains of one have been handed over and two more will be handed over this evening. This is a meticulous, slow process,' said Dr Rajnish Patel, professor, surgery and additional superintendent at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. An Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed at the Meghaninagar neighbourhood of Ahmedabad. The flight was carrying 242 persons, including crew members. All but one passenger, a British national of Indian origin, died in the crash. The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital handed over eight bodies of victims to family members Friday. These were the ones that could be easily identified. Most others were charred and damaged beyond recognition and a DNA test is essential to establish their identity. The hospital started collecting blood samples for DNA testing on its premises starting Thursday evening, converting a large examination hall into a makeshift sample collection centre. Also read: Air India crash: Inside Ahmedabad hospital morgue, bodies await DNA ID as doctors race against heat, time Process of handing over bodies Dr Patel explained that when a configuration of a patient matches with that of a family member, the team notifies the hospital authorities. 'A person from the hospital will call up that relative. A number will be given to that relative so that they can reach the civil hospital and call that number again. From there on, the person will be guided to the medical superintendent's office. From there they will be taken, identified, papers will be verified and the body will then be handed over to them,' Dr. Patel said. He added, 'It usually takes 2-3 days for a simple DNA sampling but there are multiple factors here that have both legal and medical implications, so we have to be careful. It can take up to 72 hours or may be a little longer also.' Dr Alok Pandey, relief commissioner at the Gujarat government, told reporters Saturday evening that the hospital is working with the civic bodies to ensure that a death certificate can be provided to relatives on the spot. 'When the bodies are handed over, these officials will accompany the body in the ambulance along with a police pilot straight to the village,' Dr Pandey said. He added that talathis across the state have been instructed to immediately issue a family card to relatives of victims who lost their lives in the accident so that they don't have any problem in the succession or inheritance process. Pandey said, the Gujarat government has also arranged for a grief counsellor to speak to every family who has lost a loved one. The victims of the plane crash are spread across 18 of the 33 districts of Gujarat. The government has created 230 teams to establish contact with families of all victims of the plane crash. The sole survivor Viswash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, was the sole survivor from the plane crash, seated on 11A of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Dr Patel said, Ramesh was extremely lucky and is recovering well. 'The sole survivor is very lucky he was almost unscathed. He is recovering very well. And he is absolutely out of danger. Absolutely stable. He can walk around and go about his normal routine,' Dr Patel said. All those injured in the crash from buildings in the vicinity have been discharged, except for one or two who are in critical care, Dr Patel added. (Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri) Also read: Civil Aviation Ministry announces dual probe into Air India crash—one technical & another more 'holistic'
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
The silence in the room
There is a particular kind of silence that sits heavy in Indian homes. It is the silence that knows something is wrong but does not have the courage to name it. It is the silence that grows thicker at dinner tables, in curt nods, in the brushing off of tears with a quick nod. In our households, there is no space for sadness that lingers. One may cry when a relative dies, but crying in the middle of a regular day is treated with suspicion. The idea that someone could be sad without a visible reason feels absurd. And so, it begins, the great hiding, the act of tucking away sorrow like a shameful object, behind half-closed doors and fake smiles. Mental health is like the family secret everyone knows but refuses to say aloud. Depression is Lord Voldemort. It is He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named. The fear is not of the condition itself, but of what it might imply. That something has gone wrong in the family. That we, in all our discipline and duty, have failed to raise someone who is 'strong'. Ask around in any middle-class neighbourhood and you will hear the same script. 'He has everything. Why would he be depressed?' 'She just needs to get married, then things will settle.' 'Don't talk nonsense. In our time, we didn't have the luxury to be depressed.' That last one stings more than the rest. It carries the weight of generations which were told to suppress their pain, swallow their tears, and continue to walk like nothing happened. It is said with a certain pride, as if endurance is the highest form of character. And perhaps it was, once. But the problem with untreated wounds is that they fester. What is passed down is not only land or jewellery, but also silence. The unspoken grief of our mothers, the frustrations of fathers who never learnt to say they were hurting, the quiet suffering of grandmothers who cried in kitchens and then wiped their faces before anyone noticed. Trauma is inherited, even when we don't speak of it. Especially when we don't. I remember a classmate from school. Always cheerful, always laughing. When we heard, years later, that he had taken his life, there was disbelief. Then came the murmurs. 'But he was doing so well.' 'He should've just talked to someone.' Someone. That elusive figure we all believe is out there. But how does one talk when the walls themselves seem to frown upon such conversations? The truth is, we have made it nearly impossible. A boy who cries is mocked. A young man who seeks therapy is laughed at for being too 'modern'. There is still a prevailing belief that anything related to the mind can be willed away. As if sadness is a guest you can shoo out with a broom. As if sleepless nights, the crushing weight in one's chest, the endless thoughts of worthlessness, all of it can be silenced with a walk in the park or a few spoonfuls of ghee. To be fair, it isn't always cruelty. Sometimes, it's ignorance wrapped in affection. Mothers offering turmeric milk, thinking it might cure the emptiness. Fathers suggesting a change of city, hoping it will change the mood. These are attempts at help, even if misplaced. The tragedy is that many people genuinely don't know what depression looks like, not because they haven't seen it, but because they've seen it so often that it has become normal. We all know someone, and sometimes, we are that someone. The way forward is not grand. It begins with smaller things. Listening without interrupting. Letting someone cry without asking them to stop. Not labelling every difficult feeling as weakness. Allowing space for people to say, 'I am not okay,' and not following it up with advice, but with presence. We do not need to pretend to have all the answers. Most of us don't. But we can begin by saying the name. Depression. Anxiety. Loneliness. Words that should not sound foreign in our homes. Words that should not be whispered behind closed doors. There is no shame in feeling. There is only shame in forcing people not to. Until we speak, the silence will keep winning. And in that silence, too many stories will end before they were ever told. annamariya010@
