A quick lunch on the way to hospital rounds or exam prep turned into tragedy when an Air India Dreamliner crashed into the doctors’ hostel mess at BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad.
In seconds, the familiar clatter of plates and conversation was drowned out by the roar of engines and the sound of shattering concrete, as the aircraft, barely airborne, plummeted into the heart of a campus filled with future doctors.
The mess hall’s walls have partially collapsed, gaping holes reveal twisted steel beams and shattered concrete, while debris from the aircraft’s engine rests embedded within the rubble.
Images also show the mess hall littered with dining tables and leftover plates, underscoring the crash’s timing during the lunch hour when students were present.
Over 70–80% of the mess block has been cleared by rescue teams, comprising NDRF units, fire brigades, CISF personnel, and police, but unstable structures continue to hamper recovery efforts.
As rescue efforts continued into the evening, medical associations and resident doctors began sharing verified updates from the ground.
News reports from NDTV and The Economic Times confirm that five BJ Medical College students lost their lives when the Dreamliner slammed into the hostel mess, four undergraduates and one postgraduate, during lunch hour.
Around 30 to 40 others were injured, many critically, and have been admitted to nearby hospitals. Rescue teams have recovered 30-35 bodies from the mess and hostel area, and operations continue amid ongoing concerns for those still missing.
In the United States (US), concerns over Boeing’s aircraft safety, especially the 787 Dreamliner, have repeatedly surfaced on Capitol Hill. Notably, in Washington last year, a former Boeing engineer testified before a Senate subcommittee, urging lawmakers to ground all 787s worldwide due to serious manufacturing flaws.
As the sun sets over BJ Medical College, what remains is not only the wreckage, but the lives upended in a matter of seconds. The incident has jolted the nation, raising questions about infrastructure safety, aviation oversight, and emergency preparedness.
For the medical students who survived, the hostel will no longer be a place of camaraderie and quiet study, but a site of unbearable loss.
