Ahmedabad Plane Crash: London sisters, aged 8 and 4, orphaned as father dies returning from mother's last rites in Gujarat

Time of India

14-06-2025

Two little girls in London, aged just eight and four, have been orphaned in an unimaginable sequence of tragedies that unfolded over just 18 days. What began as a period of mourning for the loss of their mother has now deepened into a tragedy no child should face, the loss of both parents in less than a month.
7 days ago, Arjun Bhai's wife passed away 💔 — he fulfilled her last wish by immersing her ashes in their village river While returning, he died in the plane crash 💔 — now their two little daughters are orphaned forever 😢🥹Join | https://t.co/bq8DAxMRoA pic.twitter.com/vjqj8zi2aS
A family torn apart in less than three weeks
Their father, 37-year-old Arjun Patoliya, died in the Ahmedabad-bound AI-171 plane crash while returning to London after carrying out his late wife's final rites. Bharti, his wife, succumbed to cancer on 26 May. Her last wish was for her ashes to be immersed in India, a wish Arjun honoured with great devotion.
After performing the rituals at the sacred Narmada River in Poicha and their ancestral village in Amreli district, Arjun was on his way back to London when the tragic crash took his life. The girls, who had only just started processing their mother's death, are now left without both parents.
Arjun Patolia came to Vadiad to perform his wife's final rites as per her dying wishes. A grieving husband boarded the ill fated Air India plane to go back to his 2 kids in London. Never to return back, joining his wife in death. Cruel fate! 🕉️Moksh to all🙏#AhmedabadPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/u6lbWxtdr7
Childhood hardships returned in a cruel cycle
Arjun's life was shaped by hardship from a young age. He lost his father in 1990 and was raised by his mother in Surat, who sold household items to sustain the family. Arjun pursued education up to Grade 12 at Swaminarayan Gurukul before moving to the UK at 20, where he built a life and family.
In London, he ran a furniture business and met Bharti, an accountant. They created a home, filled with love and dreams, raising their two daughters together.
A family's pain, and the fight to carry on
Arjun's cousin Sanjay shared the heartbreak the family is facing, stating how no one imagined they would be preparing for Arjun's final rites just days after gathering for Bharti's. His mother, now residing in Surat, has provided a DNA sample to help authorities identify Arjun's remains and bring him home to Vadiya for cremation.
Arjun's younger brother, Gopal, also living in London, has now taken responsibility for raising the two girls, who must now grow up with only memories of the parents who loved them dearly.