How Are Families Across India Coping with the Loss from the Ahmedabad Air India Crash?

New Delhi, June 13 (NationPress) As the nation grapples with the heartbreaking aftermath of the Air India Flight AI-171 crash, sorrow is enveloping families throughout India, mourning those lost in one of the most tragic aviation incidents in the country’s history.

Among the 241 victims of this catastrophic event, the grief is particularly intense in Kurukshetra, Vadodara, and the Kheda district of Gujarat.

Anju Sharma, hailing from Kurukshetra, resided in Vadodara with her loved ones. She was en route to London to visit her elder daughter when the aircraft crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, colliding with a nearby doctor’s hostel.

Her uncle, Balkishan Sharma, expressed his devastation, stating, “I seldom watch television. She was my brother’s oldest daughter, and I learned about this tragedy through the news.”

In Uttarsanda village, Kheda district, Rupal Patel’s family is enduring a similar heartache. Rupal, who had been living in London for 15 years and was a mother of three, returned to India for medical treatment. Her recovery was promising, and she was eager to return home.

Her brother, Pawan Patel, who had taken her to the airport just hours before the crash, said, “My sister came for a week for treatment. After her surgery, she felt well and was excited to return to her husband and children in London. I dropped her off at the airport, and by the time I got home, I received the shocking news.”

Rupal was seated in 19J on the doomed flight. Upon hearing the news, her husband immediately departed London with their children—a 13-year-old and two 7-year-old twins—to head to Gujarat.

“The children were eagerly awaiting their mother’s return, completely unaware that she would never come back,” lamented a grieving relative.

In Ahmedabad, DNA testing is underway at BJ Medical College to identify the victims, many of whom were too badly burned to be recognized.

Families have spent the night in despair, clinging to the slightest glimmer of hope.

Eyewitness Jairam, living roughly two kilometers from the crash site, recounted the terrifying moment: “Smoke suddenly billowed into the sky, and there was fire. The flight had crashed, and there were many people on board.”

Seventeen of the victims hailed from Kheda district alone, highlighting the widespread personal toll of this tragedy across Gujarat and beyond.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed just minutes after takeoff, crashing onto a nearby building. Of the 242 individuals aboard, only one passenger survived, with many others on the ground feared dead.

The government has pledged full support to the families of the victims and a comprehensive investigation into the disaster.