‘Like being pulled from death's grip': Begusarai youth survives plane crash in hostel mess
The hostel, just 3-4km from the airport runway, was jolted by the deafening crash around 1.40pm when a London-bound Air India plane plummeted into the first-floor mess where Ritesh and seven of his friends were having lunch. In an instant, the mundane chatter of midday meals turned into a scene of chaos, fire and crumbling concrete.
"I did not understand what had happened at first. We heard a loud noise and suddenly, the plane smashed into the building.
The front of it broke straight through the wall and into our mess. Debris and wreckage collapsed onto our table. Two of my friends, who were sitting across from me, vanished under the rubble and died on the spot," he said.
Trapped under a mass of debris, Ritesh was pinned by the weight of broken furniture and concrete. "Both my legs got stuck under the table. The floor was falling apart. There was smoke, heat and a loud blast.
The mess's gas cylinder exploded due to the intense temperature. One of my friends, who had gone to the kitchen to get food, died there. I thought I would not make it out," he said.
It was only thanks to the swift action of senior students that Ritesh and a few others were pulled from the debris. "They came rushing in and somehow got us out. I still don't know how I survived," he said.
Three of his classmates lost their lives in the crash, while five, including Ritesh, were injured and admitted to hospital.
His injuries were serious, but not life-threatening.
Back home in Mehda Shahpur village in Begusarai district, his mother Sunaina Devi, an anganwadi sahayika, was struck with fear when she received the call. "It was around 3pm when one of his friends informed me about the crash. I was trembling. I begged them to let me speak to him, but they said his legs were broken, and he was being treated," she said. "For over two hours, I was terrified of what might have happened to my only son.
Then, around 5.30pm, they video-called me. Ritesh spoke to me... I could not believe he was alive," Sunaina added.
She said, "Initially, we feared the worst. But it feels like God gave my son a second life. I have not stopped praying for his recovery. My brother, Ajay Sharma, went to Ahmedabad the same day. He will take Ritesh to our family doctor in Darjeeling for a thorough check-up."
Ritesh, son of carpenter Lalan Sharma who works in Kolkata, had returned to Ahmedabad only on May 15, after visiting his family in April.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel visited Rupesh at the hospital, followed by Union home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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