Hours after plane crash, Ahmedabad site full of stench, fumes, debris and devastation

Ahmedabad, Jun 12 (PTI) A strong stench of aviation fuel mixed with scorched human flesh lingered in the air hours after the London-bound Air India plane crashed here on Thursday afternoon.

Nine hours after the tragic incident, remnants of fires still flickered on charred stems of trees surrounding the crash site, a haunting reminder of the ferocity of the blaze.

The unbearable stench pervaded the premises of the BJ Medical College and civil hospital. Soon after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport, the plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in the college's residential quarters housing hostel buildings.

Three buildings bore the brunt of the impact, including a mess hall where several MBBS students were dining when the aircraft came down.

The adjoining two five-storey buildings, home to hospital staff, also suffered severe damage as the resultant inferno raged through them. The buildings were completely blackened.

Massive pieces of debris lay strewn across the site, including mangled metal, twisted beams and charcoaled remains of the buildings reduced to blackened shells. A large fragment of the aircraft's wing lay on the ground.

The tail-end of the aircraft remained lodged in the mess building, an image that has since gone viral on social media.

Rescue teams, comprising personnel from the Gujarat Police, Fire Department, and multiple emergency agencies, were still at work late into the night. Earth movers were deployed to break through collapsed walls and concrete rubble in a desperate bid to reach survivors and recover bodies.

As many as 265 bodies had been brought to the civil hospital in the city, police said. Union home minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Ahmedabad in the evening, said the temperature inside the crashed Boeing 787 Dreamliner was so high that there was no chance to rescue anyone, though one passenger did survive. PTI PR PD PJT ND KRK