Latest news with #MinakshiParikh
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Expert details how plane crash death toll could easily have been even larger
Although all but one of the 242 onboard the Air India Boeing 787 died following the crash, it is thought the death toll of those on the ground - said to be 29 - could have been greater The death toll of the India Air plane crash could easily have been even greater than the estimated 270 people, it is argued. More than the 29 confirmed deaths of people on the ground would have been likely had it not been for the heroic efforts of Good Samaritans who rushed to help, according to Minakshi Parikh, dean of the college, struck by the Boeing 787. He praised the actions of quick-thinking employees and students, some of whom were having lunch and missed impact by inches upon the collision. She said: "That is human nature, isn't it? When our own people are injured, our first response is to help them. So the doctors who managed to escape ... the first thing that they did was they went back in and dug out their colleagues who were trapped inside. They might not even have survived because the rescue teams take time coming." Ms Parikh believes more bodies would have pulled from the rubble had her colleagues at BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, western India, not reacted so swiftly and bravely. It is thought 29 people in the building - and on the ground below it - have been confirmed dead, in addition to 241 people on the plane itself. Navin Chaudhary, a trainee doctor, rushed towards a window and jumped to help search for injured colleagues and students after the impact on Thursday. He said: "There was fire and many were injured... I felt that as a doctor I could save someone's life. I was safe. So I thought, whatever I can do, I should." Students also emerged from the smouldering hostel and rushed to save their friends and staff. Akshay Zala, a senior medical student, said the crash felt "like an earthquake." He said: "I could hardly see anything as thick plumes of smoke and dust engulfed everything. I was barely able to breathe." Mr Zala rushed to safety, running through dust and smoke. He cleaned and bandaged a wound on his left leg then joined others at the medical college's trauma centre to treat the injured. Many, like Ms Parikh, believe those actions and the subsequent treatment were life-saving moments. Images of the college's dining area shortly after the crash showed parts of the aircraft and pieces of luggage strewn on the floor. Dining plates still containing food lay on the few dusty tables that were left intact by the impact. The development comes as an expert has claimed new footage of the Air India disaster contains pivotal clues which could help investigators uncover why the plane crashed. Analysing a new video of the plane's sudden descent, commercial aviator Steve Schreiber said he noticed a "protrusion on the belly of the aircraft", with a "little grey dot" just below it.
Hans India
6 days ago
- General
- Hans India
Medical college hostels vacated
Ahmedabad: Hostels of the BJ Medical College that were damaged in the Air India plane crash here are being vacated as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB) wants to conduct a probe, the institution's dean, Minakshi Parikh, said on Saturday. Talking to reporters, Parikh said four buildings — Atulyam 1, 2, 3 and 4 — which were damaged in the crash are being vacated, and occupants will be given alternative accommodations. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171) flight with 242 passengers and crew members on board crashed into a medical hostel and its canteen complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon. A total of 270 people were killed in the crash, which is being investigated by multiple agencies.
The Print
6 days ago
- Health
- The Print
Not enough cold storage, Air India crash victims' bodies in AC mortuary—inside Civil Hospital's morgue
ThePrint had, last night, witnessed several bodies on the floor of the post-mortem room at Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, before they were eventually moved to the mortuary. With cold storage capacity limited, the bodies, that should ideally be stored at 2-6 degrees Celsius, are currently kept in the air-conditioned mortuary of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad: In the wake of the Air India tragedy, the authorities in Ahmedabad are racing to complete DNA sampling so that bodies of victims of Air India Flight 171 can be identified and handed over to their families. Hospital sources said the city's combined morgue facilities, including those at the Civil Hospital, simply do not have enough cold storage capacity to accommodate so many bodies. Only a handful of other hospitals in Ahmedabad have cold storage, and even that is limited. 'At Asarwa Civil Hospital, where the bodies have currently been taken, there is cold storage space for only 36. Across Ahmedabad, total capacity is just 66—36 at Asarwa, 18 at Sola Civil Hospital, and 12 at VS Hospital—according to a senior doctor at Asarwa. During a media briefing, ThePrint asked Minakshi Parikh, professor and Dean of BJ Medical College, about the storage capacity constraints, but she did not respond. Doctors are working to to preserve the bodies until DNA identification can be completed and matched with samples from relatives. Many families are still in the process of submitting their DNA for testing But in this heat, bodies are now decomposing fast. 'All bodies were shifted to the mortuary complex. We cleaned this area but the smell of dead bodies is still in the air,' said a medical staff member of the post-mortem room. The yellow building of the post-mortem complex is locked and a security guard has been posted to stop anyone from entering. According to sources, by 15 June, DNA reports of those relatives who gave their samples on Thursday night should be ready. Only then can the victims' bodies be matched with their relatives. 'But all the bodies are highly charred. Doctors can't even identify them,' said a doctor who is part of the DNA sampling team, on condition of anonymity. He said collecting the samples was not an easy task considering the condition of the bodies. At the BJ medical College, collection of samples from the victims' families is underway. A dedicated team of around 30 lab technicians were manning five desks collecting samples. The aircraft, carrying 242 people, including 230 passengers, 10 crew members, and two pilots, plunged into a residential complex near BJ Medical College's boys hostel on Thursday. Tata Sons, who owned the aircraft, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to each family and the civil aviation ministry has ordered a high level probe. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Charred remains to make DNA matching in Air India crash challenging, says forensic university in Gujarat
The Print
6 days ago
- Health
- The Print
Air India crash: All 4 hostel buildings of BJ Medical College emptied amid site investigation
The aircraft descended with explosive force onto the residential blocks—Atulyam 1,2,3 and 4—where intern and resident doctors were living. 'Aircraft accident investigation bureau has to investigate the site, so we have evacuated the hostel area,' said Parikh. 'All the four hostels are being vacated and alternative arrangements have been made for them at various facilities,' said Minakshi Parikh, B.J. Medical College professor and dean, in the first interaction with the media after the incident. Ahmedabad: The B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad was vacating all the four affected hostels in the Air India aircraft (AI 171) crashed Thursday. Parikh said students of all the blocks are shifted to various other makeshift arrangements such as P-G hostels, the hostel facilities provided by U.N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology & Research Centre, staff quarters of dental doctors, and also some accomodation rented for one year. She said that 33 postgraduate students have been sent to different hostels. On Thursday, AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 crashed into the medical college at around 1.40 pm in the afternoon. The residents were said to be having their lunch at the time. So far, there is no official number of how many people were inside at the time. It was not clear what led to the incident, but Air India confirmed in a late-night update that 241 people on board had been killed. Only one passenger, a British national, survived. While the accomodations saw extensive damage, authorities have not confirmed how many people were killed in total and their identities. Till Saturday afternoon 270 dead bodies had been recovered from the crash site, Dr Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors' Association at the BJ Medical College, said to the media Saturday. Among the dead were 4 students of B.J. Medical college. On Saturday, the Junior Doctors Association in a statement said that, of the 20 MBBS students injured in the accident, 11 have been discharged. ThePrint had earlier reported that at least two people—the mother and daughter of Ravibhai Thakur, the only supplier of the tiffin service at the medical college, were missing. He has submitted his DNA sample to authorities in an effort to identify if the two are among those killed. When asked about the DNA collection process, Parikh said, 'I will send a responsible person for a briefing regarding the DNA.' (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: 270 bodies recovered so far from Air India crash site, 4 BJ Medical College students among those dead
NDTV
6 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Charred Walls, Interiors: Plane Crash Impact On Building In Medical College
Ahmedabad: Walls and installations were charred, beds lay without mattresses and a lone hand towel remained hanging by the mirror inside a room in one of the buildings within the BJ Medical College compound in Ahmedabad that were damaged when an Air India plane crashed earlier this week. Visuals from inside one of the rooms of the four buildings damaged by the crash showed bare door and window frames bent out of shape by intense flames that erupted after the plane with 1.5 lakh litres of highly-inflammable aviation fuel crashed into the compound, killing 274 people so far. The institution's dean Minakshi Parikh told PTI that four buildings - Atulyam 1, 2, 3 and 4 - which were damaged in the crash are being vacated, and occupants will be given alternative accommodations. This will allow Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB) to conduct a probe. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171) flight with 242 passengers and crew members on board crashed into a medical hostel and its canteen complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon. A lone survivor from the plane is currently undergoing treatment. So far, the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has identified nine people who died in the crash based on DNA samples and handed over one body. Heart-breaking visuals showed relatives, including an eight-month-old in his uncle's lap, lined up to give DNA samples to identify victims of the tragedy. As investigators looked into all possible causes for the crash, including loss of thrust in both engines of the 11-year-old aircraft, multiple bird strikes, or a potential flap issue, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told reporters in Delhi that decoding of the Black box is going to give "in-depth insight" into what happened moments before the tragedy. The black box was recovered from the "rooftop" of the hostel building at the crash site on Friday. Mr Naidu said aviation regulator DGCA has ordered "extended surveillance" for the Tata-owned airline's Boeing 787 series planes. In a post on X, Air India said it has done one-time safety checks on nine of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and is on track to complete the checks on the remaining 24 such planes as directed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The carrier now has 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s and seven Boeing 787-9s in its fleet.
