Family desperate for news after India plane crash
The family of a British man feared to have been on board the Air India flight that crashed in India say they are desperate for answers about what happened to him.
Faizan Rafik was returning home to Leicester when the plane he was due to be travelling on crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The 25-year-old's family say they have not yet received official confirmation about whether he was on board or if so what has happened to his body.
His cousin Sameer Rafik said his family had been left "completely stuck and don't know what to do".
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said an advice helpline and a support centre had been set up near the airport.
On Tuesday, Sameer said his family had provided DNA more than four days ago, but had still heard nothing.
"There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive," he said.
"We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere.
"Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything.
"We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?"
The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, including 53 Britons.
There was a single passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who survived the crash.
Faizan was retuning the UK after visiting his wife in Bharuch, Gujarat for their first Eid celebration together.
Sameer has backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash.
He added: "We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died.
"It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin.
"We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment."
Over the weekend, doctors in India said 270 bodies had been recovered from the site of the crash.
A statement from the FCDO said: "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."
The BBC has contacted Air India for a statement and is awaiting a response.
Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
Wait for bodies deepens pain of families after Air India crash
Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash?
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Captain Cook's Endeavour confirmed to be in Rhode Island waters
Researchers have confirmed that the 18th-century British explorer Captain James Cook's lost ship found its final resting place in Rhode Island's Newport Harbor, solving a decadeslong mystery, according to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Two Australian historians, Mike Connell and Des Liddy, originally pinpointed the location of the ship, called HMS Endeavour in 1998, the museum said in a report released earlier this month. The museum's report detailed how a 26-year archival and archaeological research program ultimately determined that the Endeavour was, in fact, at the bottom of Newport Harbor as Connell and Liddy had thought. Captain Cook famously sailed the Endeavour across the Pacific Ocean multiple times in the mid-1700s. He is remembered for his voyage to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia, which he claimed for Britain, as well as Hawaii, where he ultimately met his fate in a dispute with indigenous residents. Cook's exploration of the islands laid the foundation for British colonization in those areas, which is why, for different reasons, it's an important part of Australian history, according to the museum's report. "For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe's Age of Enlightenment," the executive summary of the report reads, "while for others it symbolises the onset of colonisation and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples." After Cook's death, the Endeavour returned to England, which went on to use it for transporting British troops and detaining prisoners during the American Revolutionary War. It was sold to private owners, who renamed the ship Lord Sandwich, and deliberately sunk in Newport Harbor in the midst of war in 1778. When Australian maritime experts initially announced in 2022 that they believed the Endeavour was among a number of ancient shipwrecks still scattered across Newport Harbor, the claim was widely debated. But a partnership between the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and the Australian National Maritime Museum forged ahead with the research that eventually led to the wreck's identification. They are working to ensure that the wreck site is protected from now on. "Given Endeavour's historical and cultural significance to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, England, the United States of America and First Nations peoples throughout the Pacific Ocean, positive identification of its shipwreck site requires securing the highest possible level of legislative and physical protection," the report says. American stranded in Israel with her family speaks out amid airstrike exchanges with Iran May retail sales drop more than expected Everything we know about Israel, Iran and where Trump stands on the conflict
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Family desperate for news after India plane crash
The family of a British man feared to have been on board the Air India flight that crashed in India say they are desperate for answers about what happened to him. Faizan Rafik was returning home to Leicester when the plane he was due to be travelling on crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The 25-year-old's family say they have not yet received official confirmation about whether he was on board or if so what has happened to his body. His cousin Sameer Rafik said his family had been left "completely stuck and don't know what to do". A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said an advice helpline and a support centre had been set up near the airport. On Tuesday, Sameer said his family had provided DNA more than four days ago, but had still heard nothing. "There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive," he said. "We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere. "Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything. "We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?" The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, including 53 Britons. There was a single passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who survived the crash. Faizan was retuning the UK after visiting his wife in Bharuch, Gujarat for their first Eid celebration together. Sameer has backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash. He added: "We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died. "It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin. "We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment." Over the weekend, doctors in India said 270 bodies had been recovered from the site of the crash. A statement from the FCDO said: "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." The BBC has contacted Air India for a statement and is awaiting a response. Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Wait for bodies deepens pain of families after Air India crash Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash? Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Air India Salvage Crews Retrieve Second Black Box at Crash Site
By and Allyson Versprille Save Search crews sifting through the wreckage of the Air India jetliner that crashed last week retrieved the second black box, as they seek to gain more evidence to understand what caused the accident that killed all but one of the 242 people on board. The second data recorder was pulled from the rubble at the crash site in western Indian city of Ahmedabad, according people familiar with the salvage mission. The first device was found the day after Thursday's crash. Air India didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
