'I'm on the plane safely': British man's heartbreaking final words to family moments before Air India crash - as tributes are paid to victims of disaster
Ramesh Patel was one of the 53 British nationals on the doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight that crashed just moments after take-off.
His grieving family have revealed the heartbreaking final words they received from him moments before he was killed in the Ahmedabad air disaster.
Speaking as they reached Ahmedabad on Saturday, Ramesh's family said he used to travel to India every year to feel connected to his roots and particularly visited to relish his favourite citrus fruit.
He rang his daughter-in-law Kajal Patel as he arrived at the airport on Thursday as well as when he had got to his seat on the plane.
Kajal said he first rang to let her know that the 'weight (of the luggage) is okay' as she replied by saying 'that's fine dad don't worry about it'.
She then messaged to 'make sure everything is okay' and to wish him a 'safe journey'.
He told her he wouldn't ring her again and she said: 'That's fine, you just relax, don't worry about, I will update everyone at home that you are safe in the plane'.
However, he did ring one final time to let his family know 'I am on the plane safely' and 'that it's on time'.
Kajal said she responded by saying 'safe journey and we will see you in the evening'.
She went on to add that she had prepared his favourite meal, a Gujarati dish containing lentils and eggplant, for his return and he was also 'looking forward to eating fish and chips as well'.
However, he never returned home as his flight plundered into buildings in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST), and claiming the lives of 279 people so far.
Terrifying CCTV footage shows the Air India AI-171 plane appear to lose control before it starts rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
Ramesh's daughter Priti Pandya admitted that her father had attempted to videocall her two days before the plane disaster and she devastatingly never got around to calling him back.
'He just wanted to come to eat fruit, "Jambura" (Pomelo) fruit and he didn't come back home,' she said.
'This is the first trip I have spoken to him three or four times within a week but when he video called me on Tuesday, I was working and I thought "I will call him back, I will call him back".
'But I never was able to because I got busy with work.'
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
Harrowing stories of those have perished in the disaster have started to emerge as communities across the UK paused yesterday to remember Britons killed in the air disaster
King Charles and the Royal Family marked the tragedy by wearing black arm bands and leading a minute's silence at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London.
There was also a minute's silence at a village fete in memory of a shopkeeper and 'pillar of the community' who died in the crash.
Ketan Shah, 43, one of 53 Britons on the doomed flight, ran the community store in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire.
He is survived by his wife Megha, teenage son and daughter.
Staff at the shop said: 'It is a very difficult time for us as we need to process this tragedy. Ketan loved this village and [its] people.'
Recently married Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, was in India after the death of his father.
He posed for a heartbreaking final picture with his mother, Raveena, at Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, moments before boarding the Boeing Dreamliner jet to London, where he lived with his wife.
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025
An unnamed aunt told local media: '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.'
It is believed Mr Christian first travelled to the UK on a student visa and had lived in London for 18 months, while also working part-time.
A family friend said his widow, who had stayed in London, was shattered, adding: 'She keeps saying this must be a mistake.'
People at a vigil in north-west London became visibly emotional after learning two young girls had been orphaned by the disaster.
Harrow mayor Anjana Patel said the girls, aged four and eight, lost their father Arjun Patoliya in the crash – just weeks after their mother Bharti died from cancer.
He was in the western state of Gujarat to scatter his wife's ashes and was returning home to his daughters when the Gatwick-bound plane went down.
Ms Patel said: 'He has left two little girls behind and the girls are now orphans.
'I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us.'
Another victim, Abdhi Patel, 40, had travelled to India two weeks ago to care for her elderly mother when she fell ill.
She was on the flight with her sister Meghaben, from Gujarat.
Ms Patel leaves behind her husband Pankajbhai and their eight-year-old son Meer, who live in Northampton where she worked as the manager of Zone Beauty Studio for nine years.
Her colleague Zara Atif told the Northamptonshire Telegraph: 'Her son was so utterly dependent on her. This will devastate him.'
Kamlesh Chaudary, 27, who lived in London, was described by a friend as the 'sole bread winner' for his family in Ahmedabad.
He was killed alongside his wife Dhapuben, who he was bringing back to settle in the UK with him.
The death toll yesterday stood at 279, including 241 passengers and crew on board the plane.
Doctors are said to be working round the clock to run DNA checks and reunite victims with their families quickly, in accordance with Indian tradition.
The wait for the process to be completed is piling further anguish on grieving families.
Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives, said he was not getting any answers from the authorities. 'We have lost our children... we are not understanding anything,' he told reporters.
There was just one survivor of the Ahmedabad air disaster - who walked off the plane with a few cuts and bruises in what is being called the miracle of seat 11A. Tragically his brother, who was in the same row, died.
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