'It Was Like Hell': First Responders Recall Ahmedabad Air India Crash Horror

“It Was Like Hell”: Eyewitnesses Recall Ahmedabad Air India Crash Horror

First Responders Sanjay Patni (Left), Vikram Patni (Right).

(Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

"It was the first time in my life I did something like this. I don’t even remember what I did. I just did it," said Sanjay Patni, 49, who pulled out 28 bodies from the fire-engulfed aircraft, his voice heavy with exhaustion and disbelief.

Patni, one of the first responders and a volunteer, was sitting outside his house when the deafening explosion rattled the neighbourhood.

“There were giant black clouds coming out, it was all burning. All the cars and bikes were burning. The students at the college were trying to jump from the top,” he recalled. “I shouted at them to not jump down, we didn’t have fire downstairs. I told them that we will come upstairs to save you."

As the site turned into a furnace, Patni ran in and out, dragging out survivors, carrying students wrapped in sheets, and even shielding one with his own body. “If I held their hands, the hands came off. If I touched their faces, they came off. Everything was burnt. I can’t even tell you how bad the situation was,” he said, his words raw with trauma.

Alongside him was Vikram Patni, 35, a local who rushed to the crash site after a call from his colleague Meena Ben Patni. Initially turned away by the police, he pushed past the barricades. “The plane was lying on the ground. Everything was burning. A slab was on the body. The head was buried. The slab was so hot that if I touched it, my hand would burn,” he told ThePrint.

Despite the unbearable heat and choking smoke, Vikram helped pull out 4–5 bodies. “It was difficult to breathe. The firemen were asking for water. That’s all we could do,” he said simply.

We went towards the front part of the aircraft. There were 2 pilots, both burnt badly and dead. We took them out. It was extremely hot inside.

Sanjay Patni, First Responder and Volunteer - Ahmedabad Air India Crash

"One fireman was shouting - we need more water! We’re losing them! as his team tried to break into a classroom. Officials said most of the deceased were undergraduate students in their late teens and early twenties", said Sanjay Patni.

As rescue efforts continue and investigation teams work to piece together how a training flight ended in such horror, the only clarity comes from those who acted.

"I was in a very bad condition. I couldn’t stand up," Sanjay repeated quietly. But he did, again and again, for 28 bodies and at least three students. “Whatever happened," he said, “but I will never forget it.”