MBBS students, kin struggle to cope with trauma and uncertain future

Beset with anxiety, parents and family members of the MBBS students of Ahmedabad's BJ Medical College and Hospital, where the London-bound Air India plane plunged into moments after taking off on June 12, are a worried lot even as many students continue to struggle with their classes suspended and no information on their resumption. The mobile phones damaged in the crash, offering limited communication, is only adding to the woes on both sides.
'I would try and convince my parents that I am fine through daily video calls but they continued to worry about my safety. Finally, I asked my elder brother to visit me in Ahmedabad. He came by train, stayed with me for a day but returned a little worried,' a third-year student from Uttar Pradesh, who was among the first rescuers to reach out to the juniors, told The Indian Express on the condition of anonymity.
In the absence of the classes, the MBBS undergraduate students based in Gujarat have returned home while those from outside the state have stayed back in the college hostels hoping things will normalise soon.
Since most of the undergraduate students are still trying to come to terms with the accident, the exams, according to other students, are expected to be postponed.
'After days of sleeplessness, I was able to sleep last night. But my son is still unable to sleep. He was awake the whole night telling me that he cannot sleep as he sees the crash incident again and again,' Shilaben, mother of first-year MBBS student at BJ Medical College and Hospital, Jit Bhuriya, told this paper.
Most of these undergraduate students lost their mobile phones, which were damaged in the crash, restricting their access to multiple things.
Jit Bhuriya along with his friends had gone to the Atulyam hostel mess for lunch on June 12 when the AI 171 flight crashed into it and the ceiling collapsed on them burying them under the debris. Initially admitted at Civil Hospital Asarwa, Jit was shifted to a private hospital in Dahod and discharged on June 18. 'There is no information about the classes or exams yet,' Jit said.
Another second-year student, Ritesh Kumar from Bihar, residing in Atulyam 12 hostel for undergraduate MBBS students who lost his mobile phone in the crash is in touch with a limited number of contacts now. 'After staying for a night in the hostel following my discharge from the hospital on 14, I came back home on repeated insistence of my family,' he tells this paper.
Another first-year student, Akshat Jaiswal, who sustained a fracture in his leg, has returned to his home in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya. His phone was also damaged in the crash.
Pratham Kolcha from Mehsana with his three second-year batchmates, including his roommate, were on their way to the mess for lunch when they were engulfed by the flames of the burning fuel. All three with burn injuries are admitted at a private hospital in Ahmedabad.
Family members of Kolcha, the first child in the family about to fulfill his medical dream, are concerned about his future. 'There is no intimation yet… it would be better if the classes and exams are extended,' Jagdishbhai Kolcha, an employee in ONGC Mehsana, who has been staying in Ahmedabad since June 12, told this paper. Pratham's two batchmates, who were injured along with him, are Surat resident Nikunj and Brijesh from Panchmahal.
Second-year student and Anand resident Nikul Chaudhary, who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ahmedabad said 'under trauma' he is 'not thinking about anything at the moment' but hoping things will get better at the earliest.

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