AHMEDABAD: A catastrophic tragedy struck Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon as an Air India plane, en route from Ahmedabad to London, crashed directly onto the hostel complex of intern doctors at BJ Medical College, reducing it to rubble and triggering scenes of chaos, death, and devastation.
The aircraft came down with explosive force onto the Atulya residential blocks—Atulya 1, 2, 3, and 4—where 50 to 60 intern and resident doctors were reportedly resting. Eyewitnesses say the building erupted in flames upon impact, tearing through the concrete and instantly killing many inside. Ambulance crews arriving on the scene described horrific sights: bodies mutilated, some intern doctors charred and crushed under concrete debris, others found in pieces.
Residents, in shock, told the media that the aircraft hit the very heart of the doctors' living quarters. “The plane fell directly on the building where young doctors were staying. The entire hostel has turned into a graveyard,” one eyewitness recounted, standing near an ambulance that reached minutes after the crash.
Dr Rohan Krishnan, Chief Patron of the FAIMA Doctors Association, confirmed that the plane crashed within the BJ Medical College campus, damaging both the MBBS students' hostel and the super-speciality doctors’ residential block. “We have confirmation of injuries to around 50 people. Five bodies are unidentifiable. There is an urgent need for blood donations at the site,” he said.
“We are deeply shocked about the news of AI flight crashing in Ahmedabad! News has become more gruesome after finding out that flight had crashed in BJMC, Hostel & many MBBS students have also been injured!!!! We are monitoring the situation closely & are ready for any help! (sic)” wrote the FAIMA Doctors Association.
“It’s a black day for the Indian Medical fraternity. My hand trembles as I write this, knowing that the Air India flight crash on BJMC medical college UG hostel in Ahmedabad has cost us the lives of our Medical students, Doctors and other horrifying casualties,” wrote Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson, Indian Medical Association JDN.
“It was during the lunch hours and the medical students were in their mess while the tragedy happened. Prayers with all the lost souls and those who are undergoing treatment,” he added.
According to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Gujarat Health Department, the affected zone includes the students' hostel, staff quarters, and other residential buildings linked to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. “About 50 injured have already been rushed to the Civil Hospital,” he confirmed, as medical teams scrambled to save lives in a race against time. The impact occurred just past noon, when many students were in the mess for lunch.
Survivors say they heard a deafening blast from the sky. Plates were dropped mid-meal as students fled in panic. A massive aircraft had plummeted through the hostel’s roof—its wheels horrifyingly visible, wedged into the debris of the collapsed structure.
Some students managed to escape. Some are still missing. And many, tragically, did not survive.
The Medical College campus, once a symbol of learning and service, is now shrouded in smoke, ash, and silence—its young healers among the fallen.
