Ahmedabad, Jan 28 (PTI) For the residents of Shahibaug and Meghaninagar localities here, the news of the aircraft crash in which Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others were killed on Wednesday reopened wounds of the Air India crash of June last year.
The tragedy in Baramati brought back the “haunting memories” of June 12, 2025, when Ahmedabad witnessed one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.
“Those visuals have been repeating in my head ever since I heard about the crash in Maharashtra today,” said Rajesh Patel, a local businessman who was among the first responders at the Ahmedabad site.
“It has taken me back to that fateful day. The sound, the smoke, it’s like it’s happening all over again,” he said.
On the fateful day last year, Air India Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, plunged into a hostel complex at BJ Medical College just seconds after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, including former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, and also claiming 19 lives on the ground.
Patel, who lives barely 500 metres from the accident site, said he could see thick black smoke and towering flames from his residence. “At first, I thought it was a blast. But one of my employees, who lives closer to the site, informed me that a plane had crashed,” he said.
The 57-year-old businessman said he and his team reached the spot within 10 minutes. “All we could experience was fire everywhere and the strong smell of burning fuel,” Patel recalled. He said they struggled to enter the area for the first few minutes as their eyes began to burn due to the heat and smoke.
Patel claimed they recovered nearly 70 tolas of gold ornaments, Rs 50,000 in cash, British passports, and a few US dollars from the scene of the deadly aircraft accident and handed over the valuables to the police.
It was extremely difficult for first responders to enter the crash site as explosions were occurring at intervals due to the aviation turbine fuel in the plane. There was also fear that gas cylinders in the medical college hostel canteen could explode at any moment, he added.
As they retrieved passengers’ belongings, gold ornaments, and cash, they did not find a single body that was intact, said Patel. “It was only flesh and bones. We collected the remains in bedsheets and bags and handed them over to the officials.” Handling the body of a pregnant woman was particularly difficult, he said.
“My hands were shaking after I retrieved the body of the pregnant woman. It was heart-wrenching to witness the fate of an unborn child,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion.
The news of the Baramati plane crash also revived painful memories for the family of 14-year-old Akash Patni, one of those who lost their lives in the June 12 tragedy.
Suresh Patni, a resident of Meghaninagar and the father of the teenager, said, “Whenever we remember the incident, we lose our appetite. No one should ever have to go through something like this. I pray to God that such a tragedy never happens again. But who can stop destiny?” Akash had gone to deliver lunch to his mother at the family’s small tea stall near the B J Medical College hostel in Meghaninagar when disaster struck.
Another bereaved father, Girdharbhai Jirawala, said with teary eyes, “The Baramati crash brings back painful memories of the terrifying Ahmedabad tragedy. Whenever I hear about a plane crash, it reopens my wounds and reminds me of my son Mahesh. In my old age, bearing the loss of a child is an unbearable pain.” Mahesh Jirawala, a filmmaker and Jeevandhara Foundation Seva Trust NGO founder, was one of the 19 people killed on the ground during the plane crash.
According to the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others were killed when the Learjet plane they were travelling on crashed near Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday morning.
A Gandhinagar-based pilot who flies VIPs and politicians described the Baramati crash as a tragic moment for the aviation community. “It is sad news for the entire aviation fraternity. I also used to meet one of the pilots who lost their lives in Baramati,” he said.
Recalling his association, the pilot said he had flown Pawar at the same airport in 2021 while he was in Mumbai. “We learn from incidents like these,” he added.
Another pilot who flies officials from the Gujarat government said that pilots strictly adhere to standard operating procedures, as safety remains paramount. “However, it is wintertime, which often means low visibility,” he said.
He also said that Baramati airport has an uncontrolled airstrip, meaning it lacks a proper instrument landing system to guide aircraft during low-visibility operations.
“At such airstrips, landing is based largely on pilot judgment and the GPS systems available in the aircraft,” he added. PTI KVM PD SKL NR
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