Fuel, flesh: Nauseating smell at Ahmedabad plane crash site as hundreds charred

The Ahmedabad disaster has left the city reeling, with smouldering wreckage, scorched buildings, and the unbearable stench of death painting a devastating scene

A horrifying tragedy struck Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday as a London-bound Air India flight crashed minutes after take-off, flying into the residential quarters of a medical college campus and erupting into a fireball that killed all passengers, except one, and some people who were in the hostel at that time.

Ahmedabad: People look at the debris of the Air India plane that crashed moments after taking off from the airport, in Ahmedabad, Thursday, June 12.(PTI)

The Ahmedabad disaster has left the city reeling, with smouldering wreckage, scorched buildings, and the unbearable stench of death painting a scene of utter devastation. Follow Ahmedabad plane crash news live updates

Home minister Amit Shah, who visited the crash site on Thursday, and said the plane was carrying a massive 1,25,000 litres of fuel, making chances of survival nil due to the high temperature caused by the burning fuel.

Stench of human flesh

A nauseating stench of aviation fuel and charred human flesh clung to the air for hours after the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday afternoon, turning a quiet medical campus into a scene of horror.

Flickers of fire still remained atop blackened tree trunks even hours after the devastating crash on Thursday.

 

Security personnel patrol the site of an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad(AP)

The foul smell had spread all the way to BJ Medical College and the adjoining civil hospital, where the aftermath of the catastrophe unfolded with grim urgency, according to a PTI news agency report.

The aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew, plummeted into the residential quarters of the college campus shortly after lifting off from Ahmedabad airport, a little after 1:30 pm.

The impact was massive — with three buildings bearing the brunt, including a mess hall filled with MBBS students mid-meal. Two adjacent five-storey buildings housing hospital staff were also engulfed in flames, their exteriors charred beyond recognition.

 

Debris of Air India flight 171 is pictured after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad.(AFP)

Massive pieces of debris lay scattered across the crash zone — twisted beams, blackened walls, mangled metal fragments and charred remains of several passengers, whose identities will be ascertained using DNA tests.

A large portion of the aircraft’s wing was found detached on the ground, while the tail section remained embedded in the mess hall — an image that rapidly spread across social media.

Rescue operations were carried out through the night. Teams from the Gujarat Police, fire department, and multiple emergency units worked tirelessly, using earth movers to cut through the wreckage in a desperate effort to find survivors and recover bodies.

 

Debris lies at the crash site after an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed during take-off from an airport in Ahmedabad.(REUTERS)

Union home minister Amit Shah, who reached Ahmedabad on Thursday evening, had said. “The temperature inside the crashed Boeing 787 Dreamliner was so high that there was no chance to rescue anyone,” he said, adding, however, that miraculously, one passenger did survive.

As of Thursday night, 265 bodies had been brought to the city’s civil hospital, police confirmed.