When Air India Flight AI-171 plunged into a residential block of B.J. Medical College on 12 June, it left behind twisted metal, scorched earth, and haunting silence. But amid the wreckage, a few stories of survival emerged, offering fragile glimmers of relief in a sea of loss.
Drijesh Mor, a first-year MBBS student from Palanpur, had just stepped out of the mess to wash his hands when disaster struck. He described hearing a deafening sound that initially made him believe it was either an earthquake or an airstrike. What followed was chaos ¡ª collapsing walls, choking smoke, and cries of panic.
As per the New Indian Express, He stood frozen for moments, unable to decide whether to run or hide. "The windows exploded, everything turned grey, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped,¡± he told local reporters, overwhelmed by emotion.
Another student, Dr Vaishali Lalwani, survived simply because she did not follow her routine. A first-year MD Medicine student from Godhra, Vaishali usually had lunch in the hostel mess, but on Thursday, she decided to skip it. That decision saved her life.
Her father, Suresh Lalwani, a banker in Godhra, said the family was paralysed with fear when they heard the plane had crashed into the very building where she normally ate. When she finally answered their call, they broke down in relief. Vaishali later shared that an elderly woman who served tea at the mess and her grandson had both perished in the crash.
The Dreamliner¡¯s crash reduced the medical campus to rubble. Hostels filled with young doctors were suddenly warzones. Some students died instantly, while others remain missing. Dr Sagar Panjwani returned to find his room reduced to ashes. Another student, Dr Arun Prashant, jumped from a floor to save his life. Hostel staff spoke of smoke, shattered glass, and unbearable heat.
Among the confirmed deceased are doctors Aryan Rajput, Manav Bhadu, Rakesh Deora, a pregnant woman, and Kajal Pradeep Solanki. Resident doctor Jay Prakash Chaudhary is still missing.?As the debris continues to be cleared, students walk through their broken campus with quiet reverence, some holding books, others carrying only memories of those who are no longer with them.