Seat 11A turned out to be a miracle spot for Ramesh Vishwashkumar — the lone survivor among the 242 passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171. But as of late Thursday night, the fate of dozens of undergraduate students from B J Medical College remained uncertain. “Every year, 250 students are admitted to the hostel. If you count four batches, the three blocks — A, B, and C — can house nearly 1000 students,” Mukesh Shukla, former B J Medical College faculty member, told mid-day.

Ramesh Vishwashkumar lying in hospital and his Air India boarding pass. Pic/X/@PopularPrashil

Shukla said several students were still unaccounted for following the crash, which occurred just minutes after takeoff, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into the Meghaninagar residential suburb. “It’s like they evaporated in the intense heat of the fire,” he said, adding that the aircraft’s fuel tank contained about 65,000 litres of highly inflammable fuel. The fire gutted one entire hostel block and scorched large parts of the others.