One man survives fireball crash; dozens of BJ Medical students feared lost as hostel turned to ash
Screen grab of the viral video showing Ramesh Vishwashkumar walking out of the debris after the plane crash
Seat 11A turned out to be a miracle spot for Ramesh Vishwashkumar — the lone survivor among the 242 passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171. But as of late Thursday night, the fate of dozens of undergraduate students from B J Medical College remained uncertain. “Every year, 250 students are admitted to the hostel. If you count four batches, the three blocks — A, B, and C — can house nearly 1000 students,” Mukesh Shukla, former B J Medical College faculty member, told mid-day.
Ramesh Vishwashkumar lying in hospital and his Air India boarding pass. Pic/X/@PopularPrashil
Shukla said several students were still unaccounted for following the crash, which occurred just minutes after takeoff, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into the Meghaninagar residential suburb. “It’s like they evaporated in the intense heat of the fire,” he said, adding that the aircraft’s fuel tank contained about 65,000 litres of highly inflammable fuel. The fire gutted one entire hostel block and scorched large parts of the others.
Apart from civil services vehicles like ambulances and fire brigades, postgraduate students used their own vehicles to rush the injured to the hospital, located about 1.5 km from the crash site. As the Dreamliner failed to gain altitude, it slammed into the building, triggering a massive fireball over the hostel. “It was lunchtime, and over 50 students were likely in the mess, which the plane hit first,” a source said.
Authorities later announced “no survivors” and requested families to submit DNA samples for identification. “We were told there was nothing left to hand over,” said Richa Gajjar, whose mother-in-law was on the flight. Still in shock, Richa said her husband had gone to provide DNA samples at the Civil Hospital.
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