The medical students in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad were eating lunch on Thursday when an Air India passenger plane crashed into their dining hall.

“We only heard a blast,” said Mohit Chavda, an intern who was halfway through his meal of lentils, cabbage and bread when the disaster struck. “Then we just saw the dust and smoke coming inside with force.”

In the aftermath of India’s worst aviation disaster in decades, the ripped-off tail of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner could be seen jutting out of the building, as firefighters quelled the flames. In the dining hall, lunch plates were left half finished.

While police officials have put the death toll from the crash at 269 people, they have cautioned that a final figure will take time to ascertain. Many of the bodies are charred and are being identified and counted through DNA testing.

All but one of the 242 passengers and crew aboard the jet, which was headed to London, are confirmed dead,the airline said. Rescue personnel at the site, as well as doctors and security officials, suggested that at least three dozen other people had been killed on the ground.