A day after the world's worst atmosphere tragedy in 10 years hurt BJ Medical College, a creepy silence involved the campus of Gujarat's oldest medical college. The hostel complex was closed, exams were postponed, and crash survivors (students, professors, staff, family) were seen to tow their luggage and leave campus.
A portion of the jet plunged into the dining room, and there was a compound that bears the brunt of the AI-171 crash on Thursday afternoon. Several other buildings, the tall, dark gray structure with modern facades, had visible damage. Smoke stains damaged the outside and shattered some floor windows. Burnt trees lined up the area, with branches blackening from the fireballs that followed the collision.
“I went to Swaminarayan Temple in the evening and had dinner there. Around midnight my father took me to Ahmedabad and to our house in Rajkot.
Tarun, a sophomore resident with visible injuries, said he had to jump off the balcony for a fireball. “That's how I survived. We're not going home now. We're trying to get accommodation… we didn't even have essentials.
Assistant Professor Piyush spoke of his narrow escape. “I escaped from the building and then jumped over the previous boundary wall. That's why I got the sprain. If I had waited for another 15-20 seconds, I would have been dead from choking or choking… Many people lived with their families,” he said.
Not everyone was lucky. Ravi Takor was photographed of suffering and pain as he tried to trace his mother and daughter in a hostel at BJ Medical College at the time of the incident. “My mother, wife, I work in the BJ Medical College chaos. Junior doctors come here for lunch. Meanwhile, food for senior doctors is packed into the Civic Hospital as part of Tiffin service. On Thursday at 1pm, we went to the hospital packing food while our mothers and daughters were in the midst of their mess.
His father, he and his wife were out as part of the Tiffin service, the toddler was left with his grandmother. “At the time of the crash, mother Sarla and daughter Adia were in confusion. It's been 24 hours and there's no clue as to what happened to them,” he said.
Images of the dining area just after the crash showed wheels embedded in the wall and other parts of the aircraft, but students' pieces and belongings, including clothes and books, were scattered across the floor. Steel tumblers and plates still containing some food are available on several tables that were left intact. A strong foul smell of jet fuel was cast into the air as authorities used cranes to remove burnt wood and debris.
On Friday, senior graduate students said they were roped to help collect blood samples for DNA testing and blood donation drives. “We were told to eat at graduate students' university campus. The disruption on the first and second floors is completely damaged. Many of our friends are in the hospital with injuries. Our university authorities confirmed that the preliminary examination for sophomore students has been postponed until further notice.”
Authorities have sealed parts of the hostel complex. Doctors of nearly 50 resident who lived about 200 metres from the confusion said they had lost their homes and valuables. The car parked in the parking space behind the house was also burnt. Dr. Chetan Dalaiya, a faculty member who was the hostel's chief watchdog until last month, said the doctor and his family had moved to another area of nearby Lions Clubs and other medical colleges. “There was an empty staff quarters where the resident doctors moved,” he said.
The relatives continued to mourn the deaths. First-year medical student Alyan Rajput, a resident of Jigsori village in Gwalior district, has passed away at the hostel. Rajput, 22, was preparing for the Neet exam in his village. Aryan brother Bikham Singh said, “He was very good at studying and had scored 700 points in the NEET exam. He came to the village just a month ago, became a big doctor and served the people.”
“I'm going to have lunch,” said the last call from 20-year-old MBBS student Jaiprakash Choudhary, a resident of Rajasthan's Bhama district, to his family around 1:30pm on Thursday.
Jaiprakash, a second-year medical student at BJ Medical College, was in the midst of the chaos when the crash occurred. His body was one of eight people who were handed over to his family on Friday by authorities. He suffered from serious burns, almost 30% of his body was burnt.
Mangalalam said that Jaipurakash's father Dharmalam, a farmer and daily wage worker, had received a loan to educate his son. On a Thursday, around 1:20pm, Jaiprakash was studying in the library. Jaiprakash declined and said he was heading into confusion for lunch. “If he went to buy some mangoes, he might still be alive,” said his cousin Mangalalam.
