'He came to eat his favourite fruit…never returned': Air India crash victim's family
The grieving family of Ramesh Chand Patel, a British national who lost his life in the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash, arrived in India on Friday to take his body home and pay their final respects.
Patel, a regular visitor to Gujarat and deeply connected to the country of his roots, had come to India for just nine days. His daughter, Priti Pandya, speaking with ANI, recalled the simple, heartfelt reason behind his short visit.
"He came here last Tuesday--that is the 4th of June--just for 9 days. He just wants to come to eat the Jambura fruit. He didn't come back home," she said, her voice heavy with grief.
This was a trip like many before it, yet unlike any other. "He comes every year to India. He loves India. He has a house in Gujarat. He and my mother open the house and come here for 6 weeks. Have a tiffin service and enjoy there. This time he just came to enjoy the fruit," she added.
When asked about her last conversation with her father, Pandya expressed regret. "I didn't. This is the first trip where I have spoken to him 3-4 times within a week. But when he video called me on Tuesday, I was working and I thought I would call him back, but I was never able to because I just got busy with work."
"He wanted to come here. He loved this country. He died here, it was meant to be," he added.
On the reported compensation of ₹1 crore per deceased passenger being offered by Air India, Pandya said, 'The compensation is not going to bring him back. Money is not going to replace a life. Even yesterday, when we were trying to get our booking to come here, Air India was an option, and I said I am not coming on Air India. We can't lose 5 of us who have travelled to come here. We have left our children. Our children are by themselves at home.
Kajal Patel, Ramesh Patel's daughter-in-law, also shared her last moments of contact with him
"Thursday morning, he rang me and then he said everything is okay. I also messaged him on both his phones, saying, 'I hope everything is okay. All your belongings are fine and safe journey.' He said, I won't ring you again. Everything is fine. Just relax. Don't worry about it. He still rang me again and said I am on the plane safely. It's on time. I said Okay, Dad, safe journey. See you in the evening."
Holding back tears, she added how she had been preparing for his arrival, calling in his favourite food: "The Day before, because I know he was coming, I called his favourite food. He was looking forward to eating fish & chips as well."
She also recalled trying to dissuade him from taking this short trip. "He was saying to us that I am going. I said, Dad, it's too hot to go. Don't go. Mum didn't want him to go, and then he asked Mum, Could I go? I want to go. I told him not to go, it's hot. He said, No, I want to go and then I said Okay, go, fulfil your wish for what you want to eat. I don't know, he didn't come back."
On the compensation issue, her heartbreak was clear: "I give you the money, give my dad. That's what I am going to say. But no one is going to give Dad."
'Our children are on their own. They said Don't worry, go. Just bring Dada back.'
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