This is the story about those on the ground who perished when Air India’s giant Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft crashed on them and burst into a fireball.
New Delhi:This is the story about those on the ground who perished when Air India’s giant Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft crashed on them and burst into a fireball. They were workers and those looking for employment.
There were at least 24 fatalities on the ground, and DNA tests are being conducted on the remains to see if the crash claimed more people on the ground. Among the victims were four medical students and a doctor’s wife, killed when the plane crashlanded on the BJ Medical College hostel building.
Fourteen-year-old Akash Patni was sleeping under a tree near his family's tea stall close to the hostel building. “His mother, Sitaben, was preparing tea at the time. First, a large metal piece fell on Akash's head, and then he was engulfed in flames,” recounted his aunt Chandaben, who, along with other kin, stood outside the civil hospital's post-mortem room.
“Sitaben sustained severe burns when she tried to save Akash. She is now hospitalised. Akash's body was charred beyond recognition, and his father had given samples for DNA tests,” the aunt said.
Ravi Thakor was a picture of agony and pain as he went about trying to trace his mother and toddler daughter, who were at the BJ Medical College hostel mess.
“My mother, wife and I work at the BJ Medical College mess. Junior doctors come here to have their lunch, while food for senior doctors is packed and taken to the civil hospital as part of a tiffin service. At 1 pm on Thursday, we packed food and went to the hospital, while my mother and my daughter were in the mess,” a distraught Thakor told reporters.
Since he, his father and wife are out as part of the tiffin service, the toddler is left with the grandmother while she prepares food at the mess, Thakor told PTI on Friday.
“At the time of the crash, my mother, Sarla and daughter Aadya were in the mess. It has been 24 hours, but I have not got any clue about what has happened to them. I have gone through the lists provided by authorities and have searched for them in civil and private hospitals all through the night,” he said, his pain at “unresponsive” authorities evident.
“All the missing students have been located and bodies identified. Only my mother and daughter are untraceable. The guards in the mess are not letting anyone in. I think my mother and daughter may have gone to the ground floor using the stairs. All we want the authorities to do is allow us to look around for our satisfaction,” Thakor pleaded.
Among the medical students was Aryan Rajput, a farmer's son from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district, who was studying to become a doctor. His body will reach Gwalior late on Friday night, inspector-general of police Arvind Saxena told PTI.
Rajput, who hailed from Jigsawli village, was a first-year student at the Ahmedabad college and lived in its hostel. Aryan had recently returned to the hostel after visiting home on May 31, he said.
Aryan's cousin Bhikham said he was eating in the hostel's dining area when the plane came down. “One of his friends informed us about the incident. We have told his parents that he is injured. The family is in deep shock,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad city police have registered a case of accidental death in the Air India plane crash incident. The crash site, called 'Old IGP Campus', houses residential quarters of MBBS students and resident doctors of BJ Medical College affiliated to the Civil Hospital, which is close to the crash site.
As per the accidental death report filed by the Meghaninagar police station on Thursday evening, they received the information about the crash and the resultant fire at around 1.44 pm on Thursday. During the firefighting operation, the police found that the majority of the passengers as well as crew members were charred to death and their bodies taken to the civil hospital in ambulances, said the police report, adding that people living in doctors' residence also lost their lives in the crash.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dhrumit Gandhi on Friday said the search and rescue operation concluded in the morning. “Our search and rescue operation came to an end in the morning, and the site has been handed over to forensic experts as well as civil aviation officials. A team of firemen, equipped with tools such as metal cutters, are accompanying them to help them in clearing the debris for the probe,” he said.
