In a scene of overwhelming devastation, a powerful moment of spiritual symbolism emerged from the ashes of the Air India Flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad, an almost unscathed copy of the Bhagavad Gita was found lying amid the charred wreckage.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, en route to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad, crashed just minutes after takeoff on Thursday, plummeting into the hostel complex of a nearby medical college in Meghaninagar. Of the 265 lives lost, including 242 on board and 23 on the ground, only one passenger miraculously survived the catastrophic disaster, which has become one of the deadliest aviation tragedies in India’s history.
As rescue and recovery efforts continued through twisted metal and scorched earth, volunteers like Saagar Amin, a hairstylist from the city, joined forces with first responders at the crash site. Amid the smouldering debris, he stumbled upon something he never expected: a largely untouched copy of the sacred Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.
“I reached the site around 1:30 or 2:00 pm and saw fire and debris everywhere,” Amin recounted. “The flames were twice my height. There was black smoke, melted metal, and complete destruction. It was like a balloon of fire.”
And then, amidst that inferno, the sacred book revealed itself, its pages barely singed.
“It proves the saying, ‘Jako rakhe Saiyan, maar sake na koi’ (He whom God protects, none can harm),” Amin said, still visibly shaken by the experience. “It was one of the few things not destroyed by fire.”
The surreal find has sparked reflection across the rescue crews and among citizens following the tragedy closely. While luggage, electronic devices, and even metal components of the aircraft were reduced to ash, the Gita remained, resting untouched, a moment of serenity amid chaos.
The crash site is now the focus of a multi-agency investigation. Teams from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are working alongside fire departments and hospital teams to recover bodies, clear debris, and determine the cause of the disaster.
So far, both the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), often referred to as black boxes, have been recovered. Officials believe they may provide crucial insight into what caused the aircraft to fail mere seconds after takeoff.
According to the passenger manifest, the Dreamliner was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The death toll has sent shockwaves across countries, drawing condolences from international leaders.
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