NDTV Ground Report: Suitcases Strewn, Food Uneaten At Hostel After Crash

In the compound of the Ahmedabad's Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital, JCBs moved charred, mangled remains spread over metres of land, now wet and muddy after hours of firefighting operations. Near a tree that mysteriously survived fire and a rainfall of debris, suitcases were strewn about, while in the mess of the first floor, plates of food remained untouched.

The Air India Ahmedabad-London flight plummeted from a height of 625 feet within seconds of taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport. It brushed past one of the six buildings in the hostel compound before crashing and bursting into flames. Of the 242 people on board, only one survivor has emerged so far.

But the impact was also felt outside the aircraft too. A part of the plane that crashed into the hostel mess left five medical students, included four undergraduate students and a postgraduate resident, dead while many suffered injuries.

At the hostel building, which is just meters away from the airport compound wall, a heavy burning smell lingered while the temperature felt higher than other parts nearby. On the ground was a mix of concrete, bricks, shoes, personal belongings and mangoes fallen from a large tree. Other trees closer to the crash site were charred and without any leaves, NDTV reported from the BJMC compound.

Amid the debris of the crash, sat a piles of hundreds of travel bags that fell from the plane when it hurtled towards the ground. Authorities on the site told NDTV that 90 per cent of the salvage work was done.

Inside the mess, a part of the roof was collapsed on one of the tables. Some suitcases, clothes and personal belongings of the plane's passengers were lying around while in one part, plates lay ready for around 50-60 men at the hostel. On many tables, plates with half-eaten and even uneaten food pointed to a sudden alarm caused by the aircraft's collision into the wall, possibly leading all those inside scurrying towards safety. Mattresses, now dusty, lay stacked in one corner.

108 Ambulance workers told NDTV that among those they rescued were two doctors who had burns on their faces.

Three buildings within BJMC bore the brunt of the impact, including the mess hall. The adjoining two five-storey buildings, home to hospital staff, also suffered severe damage as the resultant inferno raged through them. The buildings were completely blackened.

Rescue teams, comprising personnel from the Gujarat Police, Fire Department, and multiple emergency agencies, were still at work late into the night. Earth movers were deployed to break through collapsed walls and concrete rubble in a desperate bid to reach survivors and recover bodies.

As many as 265 bodies had been brought to the civil hospital in the city, police said. Union home minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Ahmedabad in the evening, said the temperature inside the crashed Boeing 787 Dreamliner was so high that there was no chance to rescue anyone, though one passenger did miraculously survive.

According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 people on board were two pilots and 10 crew members.

Search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport.

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