‘There was blood everywhere’: Witnesses describe chaos at deadly crash site ...Middle East

A Gatwick-bound Air India flight crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday afternoon, slamming into a crowded staff canteen and killing nearly everyone but one British survivor. 

The aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew, hit the canteen of a government medical college less than two minutes after departing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. 

The crash levelled the building, set nearby trees alight, and left a path of destruction through narrow alleyways filled with debris, ash and the smell of burnt flesh.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, the lone survivor, told Hindustan Times: “I got up, and there were bodies all around me”. 

A British citizen returning to London after visiting family in Gujarat, he was covered in cuts and burns. “I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere.”

Ramesh’s brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, 45, had also been on board. Speaking from his hospital bed at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, Ramesh said he could not find him. “We were visiting from London. We had gone to Diu. He was travelling with me. I don’t know where he is now.”

The plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India, departed at 1.38 pm local time. It veered off course shortly after take-off and crashed into the BJ Medical College campus, where staff and students had been eating lunch in the canteen. Witnesses reported hearing two explosions as the aircraft hit the ground and erupted into flames.

Within minutes, convoys of police vehicles, ambulances and fire engines arrived at the scene. Political leaders followed soon after. Even police cadets still undergoing training were called in to assist. By mid-afternoon, the road leading to the wreckage had become impassable, choked with emergency vehicles and black smoke.

The wreckage burned for hours. Trees in the vicinity were reduced to cinders. A section of the plane’s wing had landed on a nearby tree and continued to smoulder well after the fire was otherwise contained. The building it crashed into had collapsed completely, with bodies pulled from under charred rubble and wrapped in white cloth. In some cases, only limbs were retrieved.

The alleyways around the site were too narrow for most rescue vehicles to pass. Firefighters and paramedics were seen weaving between buildings, often on foot, to bring bodies out. Locals stood at their windows or gathered in clusters, some offering water to responders emerging from the site, their faces streaked with soot and sweat.

“The smell was like the cremation grounds,” said Sheela Parikh, who works at a grocery store. “There was blood and burnt flesh everywhere. Then a second blast. People began running.”

As the day passed, cranes and bulldozers were brought in to clear debris. At one point, municipal officials arrived with truckloads of cloth to help cover the dead. The need was so great that journalists and local residents joined in to help.

At Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, scenes of anguish played out as relatives scoured casualty lists and questioned officials. Outside the trauma unit, families clutched photos of loved ones, asking for news.

Meenaben Purohit wept as she searched for her nephew, Akash Nileshbhai Purohit. “He was on the flight. We found out from the news,” she said, clutching her phone.

Grief turned to frustration for many waiting outside the hospital gates. A crowd formed at the emergency ward, with police struggling to maintain order. Some family members shouted at officials. Others simply broke down.

“My sister and brother-in-law were in seats 110 and 111,” said one man. “We’ve been here for hours. We’re not tourists. We’ve lost our family.”

Outside Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Meenaben Purohit wept inconsolably as she searched for her 27-year-old nephew, Aakash Nileshbhai Purohit, who was aboard the crashed flight.

“He was on that plane. We only found out when we saw the news,” she told The Daily Telegraph, clutching a photograph of Aakash, who lived in the village of Khambhodaj. “No one is telling us anything. We just want to know if he’s alive.”

Elsewhere in the crowd, Meet Soni was desperately trying to find his uncle, Chaitanya Parikh, 67, who had been travelling to London.

“My uncle lives in Gandhinagar,” he said. “I’ve been to the hospital gate, the morgue, the emergency ward, but no one has his name. I don’t know where to go.”

Mahendra Vasandiya, 65, held a faded photograph of his younger brother and sister-in-law. “They were going to visit their daughter in London,” he said. “No one is telling us anything. I just want to know if they’re alive.”

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Outside the hospital’s main entrance, authorities had posted a printed list of survivors. Dozens gathered, scanning names in silence. In the background, ambulances continued to arrive and depart under a dim orange glow.

Among the passengers were 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese citizens, one Canadian and 169 Indian citizens, officials said. The former chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, was also reportedly aboard, although his condition remains unconfirmed.

Indian aviation authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash. Air India said it is cooperating with investigators. The aircraft’s black box has reportedly been recovered and is being analysed.

At the hospital, Vishwash Ramesh remains in a guarded room, recovering from internal injuries. When asked what he remembers of the crash, he looked away, his voice trembling. “I don’t know how I made it out alive,” he said. “I hope my brother is also alive.”

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