'We had lunch, but I finished early, my friend got crushed'

What exactly happened on Thursday afternoon after the Air India flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad airport, and in less than a minute, crashed into the nearby BJ Medical College complex? While the exact sequence of events that followed the crash is unclear, what is evident is that some students had a miraculous escape.

- Prawesh Lama

AHMEDABAD: What exactly happened on Thursday afternoon after the Air India flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad airport, and in less than a minute, crashed into the nearby BJ Medical College complex? While the exact sequence of events that followed the crash is unclear, what is evident is that some students had a miraculous escape.

Students present in hostel complex at the time of the crash and rescuers who reached the spot soon after said the plane hit tail-first on the mess of the hostel. A part of the ceiling and walls collapsed. The plane's belly, its flap and wings broke off. Some part of the plane hit the fourth floor of a residential quarters within the hostel complex, while a massive fire broke out.