India, June 13 -- The BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghani Nagar resembled a war zone on Thursday afternoon, with first responders, including police, firemen and paramedics searching for victims among the rubble after Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flight AI171 to London Gatwick, went down shortly after take-off with 242 passengers on board.

A senior state government official confirmed that the aircraft first struck a tree before colliding with one building of the hostel complex, then hitting a second , which is when it broke apart. The impact caused the roofs of both buildings to collapse, injuring several undergraduate and postgraduate medical students who were present during lunch hour. The accident happened at around 1.40...