‘A loud noise, fire and people crying for help': BJ Medical college students narrate their ordeal from the fateful afternoon

Jeel Vyas, Yash Pandav and Yash Tapaniya — all medical students and close friends — were among around 70 students who were having lunch in the dining hall on the first floor of one of the hostel buildings at BJ Medical College on June 12.
Recalling the afternoon, Tapaniya says: 'We heard a loud noise of something that seemed like a big blast. We thought that gas bottles in the kitchen area of our mess might have exploded. Suddenly, a fire broke out and the entire room was filled with smoke. The visibility was poor and it was difficult for us to see what was happening. Before we could figure out anything, concrete chunks of the ceiling fell on my head and back. A wall near us collapsed soon after and a few students got trapped. We sensed that something big had happened.'
'I somehow managed to reach the stairs and come down. There was a body. There were people around us shouting and crying. I came out of the building, while one of us (Pandav) jumped from the first floor through a window. After coming out, we spotted the tail of the plane stuck outside the first floor of the building. It was then that we realised that it was a plane crash.' Tapaniya, a second-year MBBS student at the Ahmedabad college added.
On Sunday, we three checked on each other to find that we were all safe. The three then returned to their respective residences in Surat's Katargam.
A London-bound plane which took off from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12 crashed on the first floor of the hostel building. According to Tapaniya, the aircraft was shattered into three pieces — the 'front cone-shaped' part that went inside the building, the middle portion, and the tail that got stuck outside the building.
He further said: 'I sustained injuries after the concrete chunk from the ceiling fell on my head and back. I was bleeding. People were finding it difficult to breathe due to dense smoke. The debris of the crashed plane were still gutted in fire. Due to the impact, a few gas bottles in the kitchen also exploded, making a huge noise. I came down alone, as I had lost both my friends. One of my seniors, Krish Patel, who is from Vapi, helped me get out of the building and then took me to the Civil Hospital, where I was admitted at 2pm. I lost my phone in the dining room. I borrowed his phone to call my father Nareshbhai and inform him about the incident. I told him not to worry, as I had sustained minor injuries and was already under treatment.'
Tapaniya was discharged on the following day. His father reached the hospital but was not allowed to enter as the police had cordoned off the entire building, restricting public entry. Tapaniya had reached his hostel a day before the incident and called his father to say that he could accompany him home.
Yash Tapaniya further added 'The first floor mess room contained around 80 people, including the kitchen staffers, medical students, and their families. After the accident, some students who had rushed out of the building reached their hostel rooms on bikes, brought mattresses and bed sheets, which were placed on the ground near the windows so that people who would jump could not get injured. Some of the students used the bedsheets to take the injured ones to the hospital for medical treatment.'
Tapania was in shock, says his father, who runs an embroidery business in Surat. The father said, 'We boarded a train from Ahmedabad and reached Surat on Sunday evening. He narrated his ordeal and we consoled him. He is better now.'
Pandav (19), a first-year MBBS student, said: 'We three got separated from one another. Everybody was scared and was searching for a way out of the building. In one of the corners of the hall, I saw a portion of the aircraft that was burning. There was dense smoke everywhere. I came near a small window and jumped from the first floor, and landed on the ground. Luckily, nothing happened to me. We all had lost our mobile phones. I went to my hostel room. Nobody was there. I called up my father to inform him that I was safe. I went to bed and slept throughout the evening and the entire night. My father turned up the next day and took me back to Surat.'
All the three students are currently recovering from the shock they had gone into. The trio has decided to return to Ahmedabad and continue their studies. They are waiting for a call from their college.
Nandlal Pandav, a Prajapati community leader from Surat, visited the residences of the three friends in Katargam and assured 'all possible help'.

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