Jun 15, 2025 02:10 PM IST

BJ Medical College is the oldest medical faculty in Gujarat and among the many oldest in India.

Its 100 acre campus – which has 4 four-storey buildings and two-storey eating halls and hostel buildings – bore the brunt of India’s worst single-aircraft crash this week. But Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College in Ahmedabad was additionally on the coronary heart of the rescue-and-relief operations 4 a long time in the past when 133 individuals died in one other tragic air crash simply 2.5km from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport.

A view of a BJ Medical College UG premises the place an Air India aircraft, B787 Aircraft VT-ANB crashed.(Video Grab)

“It was the backbone during the 1988 Indian Airlines air crash in Ahmedabad, where there were only 2 survivors,” mentioned Dr MF Shaikh, former head of the burns and cosmetic surgery division, BJ Medical College. Shaikh was referring to the October 19, 1988 tragedy of flight 113, which crashed on its closing method to Ahmedabad airport. He mentioned because the medical faculty was in shut proximity to the airport, most of the passengers have been introduced in for therapy.

Established in 1871 as Ahmedabad Medical School with solely 14 college students, BJ Medical College is the oldest medical faculty in Gujarat and among the many oldest in India.

It has one major campus within the Meghaninagar neighbourhood, the place a 2,500 mattress hospital stands. Another 1,200 mattress hospital got here up throughout the similar campus in 2019. The government-run Civil Hospital shares the identical compound.

Thursday’s crash passed off near the primary campus space, with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner hitting the medical faculty’s hostel buildings and eating halls. While the 4 hostel buildings’ facade was charred, the 2 mess buildings have been partially collapsed.

“Every year, 256 MBBS students secure admission here, apart from over 400 post graduation seats,”mentioned Ahmedabad-based Dr Javed Vakil, a senior marketing consultant nephrologist at Aartham Multi Super Speciality Hospital.

Dr Vakil mentioned over 300 kidney transplants are performed within the government-run institute yearly, and sufferers come from distant corners of the state.

“In 1879, a generous donation of ₹20,000 by Sir Byramjee Jeejeebhoy led to the school being renamed BJ Medical School. The institution steadily expanded, securing affiliation with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bombay in 1917 and later with Bombay University in 1946, earning its status as BJ Medical College, offering London College of Professional Studies diplomas,” mentioned the hospital web site.

The postgraduate programs are provided throughout 24 branches and tremendous speciality programs are provided throughout 11 branches.

The hospital was additionally the spine through the 2001 Bhuj earthquake reduction, the 2002 Akshardham Temple assault, and medical emergencies such because the 2009-10 swine flu outbreak and the 2020-21 pandemic. “This hospital has been handling such mass casualties since the beginning,” mentioned Dr Shaikh. “In fact, the Civil Hospital saw its worst time when the trauma centre was bombed in the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings. Yet, the hospital did not come to a standstill.”