Prayers held across South East for Air India crash victims
Prayers are being held across the South East for people who died in the Air India plane crash on Thursday.A temple in Gravesend, Kent, is holding a memorial service on Sunday to remember the victims.President of Om Mandir Hindu Temple, Abnash Sareen, said the memorial service aims to "bring the community together".He added: "It was absolutely tragic what happened on Thursday. When I saw the news I just couldn't believe my eyes."
The Air India flight AI171, which was bound for Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport.Air India confirmed at least 241 people died while only one survived and India's civil aviation minister has said a black box has been found at the crash site.Mr Sareen said following the news of the crash, members of the community came to the temple on Thursday to mourn those who died. "Many people, including myself, had tears in our eyes, we just couldn't believe what had happened," he said."Even if you didn't know the people who died in the crash, it is still extremely upsetting."Mr Sareen hopes the memorial service on Sunday will help the community heal."We want to let people know we stick together during difficult times," he added.
'Closer to home'
Shyam Govinda, who represents the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) community in Crawley, told BBC Sussex people were "shocked" and "devastated" by the news."Many people are affected by it, our community especially because of the proximity of the airport to Crawley," he said. "There is a large Gujarati community here, many of us have family members and friends in Ahmedabad so the tragedy seems a lot closer to home."A special prayer session will be held on Sunday at 17:00 BST at the Bhakti Yoga Centre.
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Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Mother of two is first British Air India crash victim released to family
The first body of a British Air India crash victim has been released to her family. A funeral was held on Sunday for 'sweet' and 'gentle' mother of two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 42, just three days after she told her parents not to worry as she boarded the flight to Gatwick Airport. Mrs Makwana, who was visiting India for dental work, is the first of 53 British nationals to die in the crash whose remains were returned by authorities. Family described Mrs Makwana, who lived in Hounslow, London, as 'a gentle soul' and incredibly hard-working. Her body was formally identified through DNA testing and taken to Pensionpora Cemetery Vadodara in Gujarat on Sunday morning for funeral rites. Her husband Alpesh, 52, and her two children, aged seven and 11, flew out to India and arrived on Saturday ahead of a Roman Catholic Service today. Her uncle Joseph Patelia told The Telegraph she had called her father Edwin Patelia to say she'd boarded safely but her sister later learnt the plane had crashed on the news. 'Before take-off, she called her father to say she'd boarded safely and would call again once she landed in London,' he said. 'That call never came. She vanished just like that leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we were hearing. 'About 15 minutes after that call, her younger sister Anne saw the news of a plane crash. She ran to her father and said, 'Please check if Elcina was on that flight.' That's when our nightmare began.' He revealed that Mrs Makwana, who previously ran a telecoms business with her husband, had come to India for dental treatment and to spend time with her parents. 'Elcina had come to India for dental treatment, it's quite expensive in the UK, and obviously to spend time with her parents,' he added. 'She'd been having frequent toothaches. She travelled alone, and her husband Alpesh and their two young children, an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, arrived here just yesterday.' 'A truly gentle soul' Paying tribute to his niece, Mr Patelia said she was a 'gentle soul' and supported poor children in India by paying for education. 'Elcina was incredibly sweet, kind and generous, a truly gentle soul,' he said. 'She had adopted two children back home and was paying for their education. She gave quietly, never seeking attention. 'She had struggled a lot in life, moving to London over 15 years ago, taking on part-time jobs to support her family there and her parents here in India. She had no brothers, so she took on every responsibility herself. 'Her loss is devastating. She was the bond that held our entire family together.' Investigators are continuing to search the crash site in the Meghaninagar district of Ahmedabad 1.5km metres from the end of the runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed for London Gatwick crashed into a hostel where medical students and their families were living just 30 seconds after take-off. India has ordered urgent safety tests of Boeing 787s and the flight data recorder, known as the black box, had been recovered and was being looked into by investigators. Only one of the 241 people onboard survived the crash. The sole surviving passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from Leicester, was sitting in seat 11A.
The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
Air India pilot's last words moments before aircraft crashed to the ground revealed
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Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Authorities start handing over remains of Air India crash victims to relatives
The Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after take-off on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognisable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives. The victims' families waited outside the hospital mortuary as authorities worked to complete formalities and transfer the bodies in coffins into ambulances. Most of them have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the identification process. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Saturday. Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, minister of civil aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash. Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, Mr Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with 'immediate urgency'. Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, from a rooftop near the crash site. The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
