- A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a hostel mess in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
- Witnesses reported a loud explosion followed by smoke engulfing the building during lunch.
- Survivors, including students and staff, escaped by jumping from the first and second floors.
Arun Prashant, a student at the BJ Medical College, was inside the hostel mess when the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the building in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
There was an explosion, and all they saw next was smoke engulfing the building, he told ANI. Mr Prashant said he had no option but to "jump" out of the first floor. "Around 1.30 pm, we were having lunch on the fifth floor, and we heard a loud noise and explosion," he recalled.
"Suddenly, smoke spread everywhere. We didn't know what to do. We were surrounded by smoke. I ran to the first floor and then jumped out of the building from there. Some families were inside the building around the crash. Only after we came out of the building did we come to know that it was a plane crash. Rescue came after 15-20 minutes of us standing outside. We were around 20-30 people," he said.
Second-year resident Dr Tarun, another survivor, also escaped by jumping from the building. "The fire was very intense. It was not possible to get out of my flat, so I jumped from the balcony," he told ANI. "That's how I survived." He was seen with a bandage wrapped around his arm.
Photos from the scene show uneaten plates of food and shattered furniture in the hostel mess. A section of the aircraft remains lodged inside the building, with visuals capturing broken walls, debris, and scorched interiors.
Students, professors, and staff members were seen leaving the campus with luggage and damaged belongings. Many were visibly injured, and others appeared in shock. A person was seen with a fractured foot.
Dr Shyam Govind, an eyewitness, told NDTV, "I and my junior doctor have been injured."
The mother of a student who survived the crash recounted her son's narrow escape. "My son had gone to the hostel during lunch break, and the plane crashed there. My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries," she said.
The Air India Dreamliner 787-8 crashed into the doctors' hostel minutes after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Of the 242 people on board, 241 were killed.
Ten hostel residents, including four medical students, also died inside the building.
