Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 14 (ANI): The grieving family of Ramesh Chand Patel, a British national who lost his life in the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash, arrived in India on Friday to take his body home and pay their final respects.
Patel, a regular visitor to Gujarat and deeply connected to the country of his roots, had come to India for just nine days. His daughter, Priti Pandya, speaking with ANI, recalled the simple, heartfelt reason behind his short visit.
“He came here last Tuesday—that is the 4th of June—just for 9 days. He just wanted to come to eat the Jambura fruit. He didn’t come back home,” she said, her voice heavy with grief.
This was a trip like many before it, yet unlike any other. “He comes every year to India. He loves India. He has a house in Gujarat. He and my mother open the house and come here for 6 weeks, have a tiffin service, and enjoy there. This time he just came to enjoy the fruit,” she added.
When asked about her last conversation with her father, Pandya expressed regret. “I didn’t. This is the first trip where I have spoken to him 3–4 times within a week. But when he video called me on Tuesday, I was working and I thought I would call him back, but I was never able to because I just got busy with work.”
“He wanted to come here. He loved this country. He died here—it was meant to be,” she added.
On the reported compensation of ₹1 crore per deceased passenger being offered by Air India, Pandya said, “The compensation is not going to bring him back. Money is not going to replace a life. Even yesterday, when we were trying to get our booking to come here, Air India was an option, and I said I am not coming on Air India. We can’t lose five of us who have travelled to come here. We have left our children. Our children are by themselves at home.”
Kajal Patel, Ramesh Patel’s daughter-in-law, also shared her last moments of contact with him. “Thursday morning, he rang me and then he said everything is okay. I also messaged him on both his phones, saying, ‘I hope everything is okay. All your belongings are fine and safe journey.’ He said, ‘I won’t ring you again. Everything is fine. Just relax. Don’t worry about it.’ He still rang me again and said, ‘I am on the plane safely. It’s on time.’ I said, ‘Okay Dad, safe journey. See you in the evening.’”
Holding back tears, she added how she had been preparing for his arrival, calling in his favourite food: “The day before, because I knew he was coming, I called his favourite food. He was looking forward to eating fish and chips as well.”
She also recalled trying to dissuade him from taking this short trip. “He was saying to us that ‘I am going.’ I said, ‘Dad, it’s too hot to go. Don’t go.’ Mum didn’t want him to go, and then he asked Mum, ‘Could I go? I want to go.’ I told him not to go, it’s hot. He said, ‘No, I want to go,’ and then I said, ‘Okay, go—fulfil your wish for what you want to eat.’ I don’t know, he didn’t come back.”
On the compensation issue, her heartbreak was clear: “I give you the money—give my dad. That’s what I am going to say. But no one is going to give Dad.”
“Our children are on their own. They said, ‘Don’t worry, go. Just bring Dada back.’”
“Her Husband Insisted She Meet Him in London for His Birthday”: Family of Ahmedabad Plane Crash Victim
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 13 (ANI): Harpreet Kaur Hora was among the 241 passengers who were killed in the Air India plane crash. She was traveling to London to meet her husband.
Speaking to ANI, her father-in-law, Harjeet Singh Hora, said, “We got the news through TV… She was going to meet my son in London… Her last rites will be performed in Ahmedabad.”
Her relative, Rajeev Singh Hora, shared that Harpreet had preponed her plan from June 19 to June 12 to celebrate her husband’s birthday on June 16. “Before she was leaving for London, everyone sent congratulatory messages, even spoke to her on the phone. After that, we learned directly from the news about what happened… Her husband insisted she meet him in London for his birthday on 16 June, as she planned to go to London on 19 June. So she booked the tickets for yesterday.”
He added, “Her father’s DNA test was done yesterday. He will be called after 72 hours. The last rites will be performed in Ahmedabad. She got married in 2020.”
Meanwhile, Gujarat ATS has recovered a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) from the debris of the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad. An ATS personnel stated, “It’s a DVR, which we have recovered from the debris. The FSL team will come here soon.”
The AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London’s Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday.
The airline confirmed that 241 people on board died in the crash, and one person miraculously survived.
The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, and assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1:39 pm (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter stopped responding.
Immediately after departure, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. An official reported seeing heavy black smoke rising from the crash site.
A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India Flight 171.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed the probe on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and met with the lone survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh. Before arriving at the hospital, PM Modi also inspected the crash site and held a review meeting with airport officials in Ahmedabad.
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