‘The sound was familiar, until it wasn’t’: Ahmedabad's BJ Medical mess scarred by Air India tragedy

A quiet lunch hour at B J Medical College turned catastrophic on June 12, when an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, just moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad, crashed into the college’s hostel mess, killing 241 people and tearing through the lives of students who had long grown used to the sound of airplanes overhead.

The aircraft struck with terrifying force at 1:38 p.m., its tail smashing into the Atulyam mess as students gathered for a routine mid-day meal. “Initially, I thought a gas cylinder had exploded,” said mess cook Meena Mistry, quoted in The Indian Express. “But when a wall of fire came towards me, I realised it was a major accident. I ran for my life.”

At least four medical students and the wife of a doctor died in the dining hall. Twenty others were injured, five of them critically. Jeet Bhuriya, a first-year MBBS student, had just walked in late for lunch. “As soon as we reached the ground floor of the mess hall, the ceiling collapsed on us,” he said in the same report. “I don’t remember what happened after that. I was told four students carried me to the trauma centre.”

One warden noted how tragic timing amplified the impact: “Unfortunately, the incident happened bang in the middle of lunch hour. Had it taken place before 1 or after 2 p.m., hardly anyone would have been there.”

For years, students had stood on hostel rooftops watching planes pass overhead. “We used to guess the airlines, the aircraft type,” a former student said. “We were used to conversations being interrupted by the sound of aircraft.”

The crash brought that routine crashing down. Sarla, a mess worker, and her infant granddaughter remain missing. “Maasi’s son is still looking for them,” a student said.

A postgraduate student, sleeping after a night shift, woke to chaos. “I heard a blast. Within seconds, I could smell smoke. I rushed out and saw fire,” he recounted. The hostel blocks now lie blackened and charred, and wardens are relocating students across campus.