Debris of Air India`s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI171), which crashed after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, were seen scattered around the hostel and residential quarters of doctors at the BJ Medical college premises.
Videos that went viral after the horrific air crash, among the worst in Gujarat`s history, also showed charred bodies in the debris. The Ahmedabad-London flight with 242 passengers on board crashed soon after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport.
The area around the crash site is densely populated. The entire accident site was cordoned off, and operations to rescue the survivors and extricate the bodies were underway. The plane took off at 01.39 pm and crashed soon after onto the hostel and residential quarters of doctors and staff members of BJ Medical College and the civil hospital. A part of the plane stuck out from the five-storey building.
BJ Medical College campus was gutted after the crash. Pic/Deepak Ashar
“The plane was flying very low before it crashed,” eye-witness Haresh Shah told PTI. “As it crashed into the building, the sound was like a blast, and the plane and the building caught fire,” he said. Local residents were the first to reach the site and try to save the passengers as well as those in the building.
Initial footage shot by residents on mobile phones showed charred bodies among the debris. “The plane crashed in the dining hall of the hostel, where people were present. Many of them were injured and taken to the hospital,” said another eyewitness.
The rescue operations were still ongoing as rescuers were trying to find survivors, Ahmedabad city police commissioner GS Malik said. The Army, Border Security Force, local police and State Reserve Police Force were involved in the rescue operation.
Several cars and other vehicles parked on the hospital-college premises also caught fire. The Dreamliner involved in the crash had its maiden flight in December 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, completing 11.5 years of service at the time of the crash.
The crash
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed five minutes after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Flight AI171 was headed to the Gatwick International Airport in London. Right after the take-off, a distress call was received by the Ahmedabad ATC regarding a lack of thrust and loss of altitude. Though the ATC responded, no reply was received from AI171, which in a few minutes crashed into a densely populated area.
The plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel during lunch hours, leading to several casualties and injuries on the ground, apart from the passengers and crew on board the aircraft. Being a long-haul flight, the aircraft was at full fuel capacity, which, post the crash, led to an intense fire at the site. Among those declared dead is the former chief minister of Gujarat — Ramniklal Vijay Rupani — who was in seat 12 in the first-class cabin.
