Council workers to be balloted on new pay offer amid threat of strikes
Air India plane crash LIVE: Sole survivor of Gatwick-bound flight disaster tells of miracle escape - 'I managed to unbuckle myself.. and crawled out'
Air India crash survivor reveals how he escaped plane: 'I crawled out'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Tragic last photo of newlywed Brit with mum before doomed Air India flight
Brit Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, took a heartbreaking final photo with his mum outside the airport before he boarded the doomed Air India flight that took his life A recently married British man, who travelled to India after his dad died, posed for a heartbreaking final photo before he boarded the doomed Air India flight. Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, took a picture with his mum, Raveena, outside Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday just before he boarded the aircraft bound for Gatwick Airport. 241 passengers onboard were killed when the plane tragically crashed and fireballed into a medical college hostel just minutes after take off. Only one passenger unbelievably walked away from the tragedy alive, as at least 270 bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far. Lawrence had boarded the Boeing Dreamliner to go back to his home in London, where he lived with his newlywed wife. His aunt, who was not named, spoke to local media and said: "We tried calling him repeatedly after seeing the news. "We rushed to the plane crash site and saw the plane completely destroyed. We lost Lawrence Christian in this crash, just days after we lost his father." A family friend in the UK said his widow was heartbroken by the tragedy. The friend said: "She keeps saying this must be a mistake." It is believed Lawrence had lived in the UK for around 18 months before his tragic death. This horrific tragedy has also left two young British girls orphaned after their dad, who had travelled to India to scatter his late wife's ashes, died on the flight. Arjun Patolia had been visiting the north Indian city of Amreli to fulfil his wife's final wish and scatter her ashes in a local river. His wife Bharati had died just seven days earlier in London and the air disaster has left their eight and a four year old daughters, who are living in London, without parents. An "angel" NHS nurse working in a UK hospital was also named as a victim on the tragic flight. Renjitha Gopakumaran, who was working at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, had been returning to the UK after a holiday to see family in her home country. Her colleagues at the NHS hospital paid tribute to the mother and said she was a "beautiful lady" who showed her patients and co-workers "so much love and care". Renjitha, said to be in her 40s, "had the biggest heart and brightest smile", one colleague said. She reportedly had two children in India and was in the UK completing her degree as part of a five-year sabbatical. The deadly crash also killed several people on the ground. At least eight deaths have been confirmed, and authorities in Ahmedabad said four of those victims were medical students living in one of the buildings into which the plane crashed.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Air India victim Raxa Modha was 'mother of Wellingborough'
A woman who died along with her grandson and her daughter-in-law in a plane crash in India has been described as "the mother of Wellingborough".At least 270 people were killed on Thursday when a Boeing 787 bound for Gatwick crashed shortly after take off in Modha, from Wellingborough, her two-year-old grandson, Rudra, and Yasha Kamdar were believed to have been flying back to England for a memorial service for Ms Modha's late husband. Jay Bapodra, who had known Raxa and her family "for decades" said she was "a pillar of the community". Mr Bapodra, 41, said: "Raxa was very loving. She did a lot for the local community, especially from a charitable perspective - both here and in India. "She was just one of those characters where she'd walk into a room and light it up."She was happy-go-lucky, never said anything bad about anybody. She was positive and very approachable... she was just a very special person." Ms Modha ran a restaurant named Pooja Caterers in Wellingborough which also catered for events including Bapodra said Raxa was "very well known" and became especially connected in the community during the Covid pandemic when her business delivered husband, Kishor Modha, died in April from cancer in India and a memorial for him was planned for 22 June in one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the Portuguese and Canadian nationals were also on the 53 Britons to have been killed were a family who lived in Gloucester, three members of the same family who lived in London, and a married couple who ran a spiritual wellness centre in the capital. The terrifying moment when Air India plane crashed into canteenAir India plane crash death toll rises to 270Who were the victims? 'Mother figure' Mr Bapodra explained that Raxa's two-year-old grandson was travelling to the UK for the first time so that he could meet said he had been messaging Raxa "in the hours before the flight" and that he couldn't "compute" her passing."Raxa was a mother figure... she was a mother of Wellingborough." he said."It's a massive void that can't be filled. Their [Raxa and her husband Kishor's] children don't have either of their parents. "It's going to take a long time to heal as community." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
U.S. officials survey Air India crash site, families continue to wait for bodies
AHMEDABAD, India, June 15 (Reuters) - Officials from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies. Along with the NTSB, officials from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India's Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source with direct knowledge. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Around 30 people died on the ground. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down. The secretary of the U.S. Department of Transport, Sean Duffy, said on Friday he was in the process of deploying a team from the FAA and the NTSB to India. Boeing and GE, whose engines were used in the plane, were also sending teams. "We'll take action should any recommendations come forward from the NTSB's investigation," Duffy said. The FAA and NSTB did not immediately respond to Reuters queries outside regular business hours. The FAA has said India will lead the investigation, but the NTSB is the official U.S. representative for providing assistance, while the FAA provides technical support. Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab officials will also look at various parameters in their inspections, including the angle of landing, as they investigate the matter, said the first source. In all, around 10 officials were present at the site on Sunday, including from the NTSB, said the second source. India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected. The crash brings a fresh challenge for both Air India which has for years being trying to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises. In Ahmedabad, doctors were struggling to identify bodies that were charred in the incident, resorting to dental samples and DNA profiling. DNA samples of 32 victims from the crash have been successfully matched, Rajnish Patel, additional superintendent at the city's main hospital, said on Sunday. "The bodies for which DNA samples have been matched are being handed over to the families with due respect," he said.
