Family of Welsh businessman killed in Air India crash feels 'abandoned'
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The brother of a highly-regarded Newport businessman, who died in the Air India plane crash with his wife and young daughter, said they feel "utterly abandoned".
Akeel Nanabawa, 35, together with his wife Hanaa Vorajee and their four year old daughter Sara, met a tragic end when the aircraft they were aboard plunged into a residential district of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff last Thursday.
Hamzah Nanabawa, Akeel's sibling, remains uncertain about when his body will be returned to the family and is urgently seeking more support from the British government on site in India.
A family representative told the BBC their plea for help: "We're not asking for miracles – we're asking for presence, for compassion, for action. Right now, we feel utterly abandoned."
Despite providing DNA and a three-day wait, the family has yet to recover Akeel's body.
The doomed flight, which crashed just moments post departure from Ahmedabad airport, was carrying 242 individuals including 53 Britons; astonishingly, there was one survivor, reports Wales Online.
The Nanabawa family were travelling home to Gloucester on the flight. Mr Nanabawa told the BBC: "I need the UK government to come out by themselves, if they've given up all this big talk over in the UK, come out here and help."
He said that there is no UK leadership in India and no crisis professionals stationed at the hospital. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said a dedicated helpline has been set up to support families of the victims and UK air accident investigators are in India to support the authorities.
"No-one from UK has even reached out to me, my family, to my sister-in-law's family. Nobody has. So you're saying no-one from the foreign office in the UK or here reached out to us at all, nobody," Mr Nanabawa said.
"They haven't done anything for us [or] what we wanted. You have to understand, this is the highest, highest incident in the UK's history of 53 lives, and we are now on day four."
(Image: James Manning/PA)
He added: "All I want is you guys to come and help and help my brother, my sister-in-law, my niece and all the other 53 people that were on that plane.
"Come and help them, please. Because they are grieving. They are hurt. They haven't got anybody. They [haven't got any] structure, no structure at all."
Akeel grew up grew up in Newport and went to Caerleon Comprehensive School before founding executive recruitment agency Rec2Go in Gloucester. Members of the Newport community told WalesOnline they were shocked at the news of the family's tragic death. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
PE teacher at Caerleon Comprehensive School James Savastano said: "It's with great sadness that we have lost Akeel in the tragic Air India plane crash.
"As a member of my form group he was well-liked and had a wide circle of friends within the year. He was a great personality and, for most of the time, a model student.
"He was a talented rugby player and cricketer representing the school with prowess in both sports.
"He and his three brothers were all top lads during their time at Caerleon Comp and I'm sure Akeel will be sorely missed by all of the Nanabawa family. Rest in peace Akeel."
A Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash.
"We have set up a Reception Centre at the Ummed Hotel, near the Ahmedabad airport, and have a dedicated helpline to provide support and advice for the families and friends of British nationals."
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