Air India crash: 'Just metres from the blast at 1.37pm', rickshaw driver recalls close shave at Ahmedabad hospital

AHMEDABAD: At 1.37pm on June 12, Omprakash Prajapati, a rickshaw driver, arrived at the Atulyam gate on the Civil Hospital campus to pick up his passenger, and a couple of minutes later he heard three blasts. Prajapati ran to save his life and received burn injuries on both his legs.

"I think it was doctors who booked the ride for Asarwa railway station, and soon after the plane crash, the ride was cancelled. Probably the doctors cancelled the ride as it would have been difficult to come out," said Prajapati.

"I pray to God that the doctors who booked their ride are safe. After I was discharged from the hospital, I tried to contact them to find out about their safety but could not find their phone numbers," he added.

"As I was about to enter the gate, I heard three deafening blasts. My first instinct was that it could be some bomb blasts. Soon I realised that it was a plane crash. Fearing for my life, I ran, leaving behind my rickshaw and even my mobile phone," said Prajapati.

"I was just 30 to 50 metres from the blast site, and the heat from the explosion was too much. In the chaos, as I ran to save my life, I received burns on the sole of my foot. If the ride had been booked a couple of minutes earlier, I would have been inside the campus. The thought sends shivers through my body," he said.