This Air India crash eyewitness cheated death by a whisker—'a blast, then a fireball, just 200 m away'
In fact, the Meghaninagar resident is still in a daze as he, his family and many other houseowners cheated death by a whisker: Air India's flight AI171 crashed barely 200 metres away from his house.
Ahmedabad: Planes flying close by is a regular sight for Krish Patani. But, the scenes involving an aircraft on Thursday afternoon will remain sketched forever in his mind.
'The spot is near my house. There was an atmosphere of fear among us. If it (the plane) had fallen in the main residential area, a lot of people would have lost their lives,' Krish told ThePrint at the B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital where he had arrived with a relative.
Apart from the 241 aboard the flight killed in the crash, several others are feared to have perished in the tragedy. There are reports in which medical students mention that the toll would have been higher if the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had torn into the hostel a few minutes later.
Krish recalled the ill-fated plane flying close to houses and felt that it would have crashed in the main residential area had it not been the effort of pilots till the last moment.
'Within a few seconds, there was a big explosion and flames spread all around. There was chaos in the area, and the people started running everywhere,' he said, adding that Meghaninagar's situation became chaotic Thursday.
The plane, he added, crashed into the hostel of the medical college where several doctors and PG students were having their lunch. 'The crash happened when students were having lunch during break time. The wall had collapsed there. We helped remove them from the debris yesterday,' he said.
Krish with his friends, brothers rushed to the crash site, right after the plane crash. The area was engulfed with smoke, while the heat high and the stench unbearable, he added.
Bodies were strewn all over, many of them dismembered. 'Many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition,' he recalled, adding that identifying the dead would be a tall task. 'I have never seen anything like this in my life.'
All the vehicles nearby the crash site were burnt to ashes, he said. 'There has been a lot of damage.'
'We helped several people, and even rescued some. The police arrived there and took over the rescue operation,' he said, adding that the whole area was cordoned off soon after for investigators to take over.
At the crash site on Friday, forensic teams collected samples for evidence while officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) among others were also present there. The black box of the crashed plane was recovered from the rooftop of the residential quarters of B.J.Medical College.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Meet the forensic dentist racing against time so kin of Air India crash victims can say final goodbye
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
17 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Ahmedabad plane crash: Air India denies allegations of asking financial details from victims' family members to process compensation
The crash, which occurred on June 12, involved Air India Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying to London. It left 241 people dead.
Hindustan Times
19 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
More remains of 16 victims of Air India crash recovered in Gujarat
The charred remains of 16 victims of the June 12 Air India crash have been recovered and identified, officials said on Friday, adding that these have been returned to families of six of the victims. More remains of 16 victims of Air India crash recovered in Gujarat The toll from the crash remains unchanged at 260, the officials said, with 241 passengers and crew and the victims on the ground where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed. 'Of the 16 recently recovered mortal remains, families of six victims have accepted the bodies for final rites. Nine families have requested hospital authorities to conduct the final ceremonies on their behalf. We are still attempting to contact one family regarding the handover process,' said an official at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. While authorities handed over the remains of the 260 victims to their families after DNA identification, the recovery operation at the site on continued over the last three weeks. 'The identification of the body parts recently recovered, mainly bones, is being done at Ahmedabad FSL and it takes about 48 to 72 hours for successful DNA matching,' a second official said. A London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here on June 12, killing 241 on board and several others on the ground. One passenger, Viswashkumar Ramesh, miraculously survived.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Remains of 16 more victims retrieved from Air India crash site in Ahmedabad
Authorities have recovered the mortal remains of 16 more victims from the Air India flight 171's crash site in Ahmedabad, nearly three weeks after the tragic mishap on June 12. These remains are part of the confirmed death toll of 260 passengers and crew members who lost their lives in one of India's worst aviation accidents. A police officer stands in front of the wreckage of the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick Air India aircraft that crashed shortly after take-off on June 12. (REUTERS) The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed approximately 30 seconds after takeoff from Gujarat's Ahmedabad airport, ploughing into a hostel block of BJ Medical College in the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood. The London-bound aircraft had 242 passengers and crew members. Only one man, seated near the emergency exit on 11A, survived the crash. 'Of the 16 mortal remains, families of six victims have accepted the bodies for final rites, while nine families have requested hospital authorities to conduct the final ceremonies on their behalf. We are still attempting to contact one family regarding the handover process,' an official at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital said. The recovery process has been ongoing for over three weeks, with rescue teams working through the debris field that spans both the crash site and the damaged medical college building. 'The identification of the body parts recently recovered, mainly bones, is being done at the Ahmedabad FSL and it takes about 48-72 hours for successful DNA matching. The identification process has been painstaking but thorough,' said a second official aware of the development. The crash, which occurred around 1:40pm on June 12, is described as one of India's worst aviation disasters. The aircraft began losing altitude shortly after takeoff and the flight crew issued a Mayday call before the aircraft crashed into the medical college hostel. Among the victims on the ground were junior doctors, staff at the hospital complex and people on the street below. One passenger walked out of the crash site after he was flung from the burning wreckage. The impact of the crash and the inferno that followed meant that remains of most of the victims, except for the 19 casualties on the ground, were charred beyond recognition, requiring officials to seek DNA samples from family members to help make the identification. The sole survivor, Viswashkumar Ramesh, has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home. HT was the first to report about the lone survivor from the crash after interviewing him at the hospital. 'He is still recovering from his injuries, especially the one on his leg. Also, he is under a lot of mental trauma from the incident, especially the loss of his younger brother who was seated in another bay of the aircraft,' a relative of the survivor in Diu said. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau continues to investigate the crash with assistance from the UK, the US, and Boeing officials. Both black boxes have been recovered from the crash site, and preliminary investigations are focusing on potential engine and flap issues. The crash also claimed the lives of at least four medical students who were in the hostel's dining area when the aircraft struck the building. Nearly 70 people in the building were injured in the impact. Of the 19 non-passengers who died in the crash, four of them succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the hospital. The last passenger to be identified was Anil Khimani, 32, a native of Bhuj in Kutch, whose remains were found at the crash site on June 25. His DNA matching was completed on June 27 night at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gandhinagar. The remains were handed over to his family on June 28.
