Air India crash site hit 1,000 deg C; lava-like temperature left little scope for escape

Ahmedabad plane crash: An officer said he has dealt with crisis situations before but has never seen such a disaster, where inferno reached 1,000 degrees C.

The temperature in and around the crashed Air India plane site increased to about 1,000 degree Celsius, which made the rescue operations extremely difficult, PTI news agency reported on Thursday night, citing officials.

The wreckage of the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight on the rooftop of the doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Efforts are underway to move the wreckage.(PTI)

"As the (aircraft's fuel) tank exploded, it created an inferno where temperature rose to 1,000 degrees Celsius in no time. This left little chance for anyone to escape," a senior fire official was quoted as saying by the news agency. Follow LIVE updates.

For context, lava from volcanoes can reach temperatures between 1140 and 1170 degrees Celsius.

An SDRF officer, who joined the force in 2017, stated that he has dealt with crisis situations before but has never encountered such a disaster.

"We came here with PPE kits. But the temperature was so high that it made operations difficult. There were debris everywhere. So we had to clear the debris that were already simmering," he said.

Earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah, who visited the crash site on Thursday, said that the plane was carrying 1.25 lakh litres of fuel.

“There was 1.25 lakh litres of fuel inside the plane and it caught fire so it was impossible to save anyone,” Amit Shah told reporters.

Air India plane crash
 

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI171), which carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed into the complex of a medical college on Thursday afternoon. It had taken off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.

One person survived the crash, while 241 on board were killed. Of the total passengers onboard, there were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals, apart from 12 crew members.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.