AIR INdia PLANE CRASHES INTO HOSTEL BUILDING NEAR MAHAGAN GARAD AIRPORT, AVOIDANCE BY PILOTS SAVED LIVES

A dramatic air accident occurred on Thursday afternoon in Meghaninagar, a densely populated area close to Ahmedabad's Mahagun Garad Airport. An Air India plane with 242 people onboard crashed into a cluster of hostel buildings housing medical college students.

Eyewitnesses say that the pilots' swift action saved hundreds of lives, as the aircraft came to rest near the hostels instead of crashing into them. "I think the pilots saved us all," said a scientist at the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), located right across the road from the affected building.

The hostel buildings in question were among several government institutions in the area, including the former campus of Raksha Shakti University and the 1,200-bed hospital. The proximity to these sensitive installations would have resulted in catastrophic consequences if the plane had crashed into them, according to shopkeepers and residents who witnessed the chaos.

"It was like a nightmare come true," said Dharmish Patni, a resident who secured his building's door to prevent people from entering during this critical period. "If it wasn't for the pilots putting the aircraft on the ground next to our building, the plane could have crashed into our society."

Eyewitnesses reported hearing massive explosions and seeing burning debris slamming into buildings mere seconds before they escaped being hit by falling parts of the plane.

Scientists at the NIOH described chaotic scenes as flames engulfed their campus. "After a massive explosion, a wall of fire and smoke rushed towards us... We had been standing just 2-3 feet from the section of the wall that was breached by the flying debris," said one scientist, requesting anonymity.

However, thanks to the airport's early-fire-team response, many lives were saved in those seconds. "The airport’s fire team was the first to arrive. Soon, city fire department vehicles, police, ambulance, everyone arrived," said an NIOH staffer who participated as a first responder.

As for Darshan Patni and his family, their sleepless night ended when they realized how fortunate they were in witnessing unimaginable terror earlier that day.

"For these residents, living beside an airport would never be the same again. Our building almost collapsed under the immense weight of expectation as thousands came to catch glances at what happened," said Darshan after recounting his family's ordeal in the crash aftermath.