Eyewitnesses to the catastrophic Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad on Saturday recounted terrifying scenes of chaos and confusion as they rushed to aid survivors. Mohan Bahadur Kshatriya, who lives just 500 meters from the crash site, said he initially mistook the massive explosion for an earthquake before realizing the grim reality.
Kshatriya, who witnessed thick plumes of smoke and flames engulfing the wreckage, described the moment he and Army personnel pulled five severely injured students from the debris. “I heard a loud bang—at first I thought it was a storm or an earthquake,” he told ANI. “There was fire and smoke everywhere. Students were crying out for help from inside the mess building.”
Despite the danger, Kshatriya and others joined rescue efforts. “We managed to rescue five students alive. They were critically injured. Later, while searching further, we found a body in terrible condition.”
Rekha Kshatriya, another resident, described the traumatic experience. “We’ve lived here for over 13 years and are used to loud noises from the airport, but this was different. It felt like our eardrums would burst. Furniture began shaking violently—it felt like a bomb blast. We saw black smoke and flames rising high into the sky.”
The crash of Air India Flight AI-171, which was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12, claimed several lives and left many critically injured. In response, the Civil Aviation Ministry has constituted a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to investigate the causes behind the tragedy.
“The committee will examine existing Standard Operating Procedures and suggest comprehensive guidelines to prevent and manage such incidents in the future,” the Ministry’s order stated. It emphasized that this panel will work in parallel with other official investigations already underway.
As rescue and recovery efforts continue, the nation mourns the lives lost and prays for the injured while demanding answers on how such a tragedy could have occurred.
