Even though police put up barricades from Ghoda Camp to the old Raksha Shakti University building to stop people from reaching the BJ Medical College hostel, where Air India flight AI171 crashed, many people still came. Sadly, the crash site has turned into a tourist spot.
Large crowds gathered like they were at a fair, ignoring the fact that over 260 people had died in one of the world’s worst plane crashes.
Both sides of the road were full of parked vehicles. Some people climbed over the hostel walls, while others, including women, squeezed through small gaps in the boundary wall to look inside.
“I’ve come here with my family to see where the plane crashed,” admitted Manju Chunagar. She travelled all the way from Naroda.
Nearby, at the Gujarat Housing Board colony adjacent to the hostel campus, residents described the horrifying moments they experienced. Darshan Patni, who lives in Block-1, said, “Before crashing into the army supply depot chimney and then into the hostel, the plane’s wing brushed a tree barely three metres from our terrace.”
“It was terrifying. We saw death from such close quarters,” he continued. “My son Yogesh, who is just 11 and studies in Class 5 at Uma School, was so shaken he developed a fever and hasn’t gone to school today.”
Pan shop sales rise
Some found unexpected profit in the tragedy. Vikramsinh Parmar, a local pan shop owner, confessed, “It’s unfortunate, but my sales have gone up because of the rush of people visiting the crash site.”
Dharamsinh Patni, another Block-1 resident, added, “From our terrace, the crash site is visible. Since morning, nearly 1,500 people have come here.” The situation grew so chaotic that police stepped in. “Eventually, the police had to intervene and made us shut the gate to stop the crowd,” he explained.
Every passing plane triggers panic
In Chamundanagar, Meghaninagar, very close to the BJ Medical College hostel, people now live in fear. What started as curiosity has now turned into fear. Children who once ran outside happily to watch planes now rush inside whenever they hear a plane flying overhead.
Residents of the 50-year-old Gujarat Housing Board colony next to the crash site say they have never seen anything so frightening before.
Karanpalsinh Zala, 45, a resident of Chamundanagar, shared his ordeal. “I haven’t been able to go to my shop since that dreadful day. I’m too afraid to stay here anymore.”
“We saw the flames, heard the screams, and witnessed the charred bodies,” he continued. “It’s impossible to live here now. I’m looking for a new home and will be shifting soon.”