BJ Medical College hostel becomes ghost town; inmates vacate rooms; condition of some resident doctors critical

NEW DELHI: The BJ Medical College hostel premises, which was hit by Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner, have become a ghost town. The resident doctors and medical students who escaped only by luck have started vacating their rooms. The eyes of the rescued hostel inmates are filled with relief, fear and anguish. Many have not recovered from the shock. They sobbed and shed tears as they started talking about the incident. "I still can't believe it. Some have taken everything they have and gone to their friends' houses" a student said. There are four hostel buildings here. Two of them, each six-storey, have completely collapsed. The college authorities have arranged temporary accommodation for the medical students.

Meanwhile, the Malayali Samajam in Ahmedabad has confirmed that no Malayali students were injured and everyone is safe.

"Thought the world was collapsing"

The tragedy occurred during lunchtime. Dr Kritik, an eyewitness, said the plane crashed directly into the mess hall. "There was a huge cloud of dust, screaming all around. It felt like the world was collapsing in front of us. There was thick smoke all over the area. It felt like life was so momentary and fragile. Several people jumped out of the windows. Rescue workers arrived within 15-20 minutes," Kritik added.

Residents in shock

The crash also shook residential quarters near the hostel. Dr Geetha Krishna, a resident in surgical oncology, said she was on duty when the incident happened. "The debris from the crash was thrown into the surrounding areas. One of them fell on my mother but luckily nothing serious happened," she recalled.