Air India plane crash: Tributes paid to victims including couple and their four-year-old daughter

Sky News

2 days ago

Tributes have been paid to victims of the Air India plane crash, including a couple and their four-year-old daughter.
Flight 171 was carrying 242 people when it struck a medical college hostel less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, bound for Gatwick on Thursday.
Among those on board were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian, the airline said.
It has confirmed 241 of those on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were killed in the crash, with just one survivor - a British man from Leicester.
Tributes to those who died in the worst aviation crash in a decade are now being shared.
Dr Prateek Joshi and his family
Dr Joshi, a radiologist at the Royal Derby Hospital, was on the flight with his wife, Dr Komi Vyas, and their three children, Mirayal, Nakul and Pradyut.
In a post on Facebook, Derby Hindu Temple said: "We pray to Lord Shiva to grant eternal peace to the departed souls and to give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense loss."
Dr Joshi's colleague Dr Rajeev Singh described him as "a wonderful man, friend, husband and father, and an exceptional radiologist who was highly respected in his field".
"It is hard to accept that a man with such a passion for life, and his beautiful young family, have been taken in this way," his statement continued.
"His passing has left a profound void, not only in his professional contributions but in the warmth and spirit that he gave to the world every day."
Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter
The family of three from Gloucester were "widely loved and deeply respected", their family said in a statement issued through their Imam.
Mr Nanabawa ran a recruitment firm and Ms Vorajee volunteered at a local Islamic school, and was a director for an organisation promoting understanding of Islam, Imam Abdullah Samad said.
Their daughter, Sara Nanabawa, was four years old.
"They were widely loved and deeply respected," the imam said. "His quiet generosity, her warmth and kindness, and their daughter's bright, joyful spirit made a lasting impact on everyone who knew them.
"She was a ray of sunshine in her school and they were a pillar of strength in our lives."
Mariam and Javed Ali Syed and their two children
The couple and their two children - five-year-old Zayn and four-year-old Amani - were returning from a holiday in India, Ms Ali Syed's sister-in-law told the Telegraph.
The mother-of-two reportedly worked for Harrods for a decade while Mr Ali Syed is reported to have worked at a London hotel.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Yasmine Hassan said of the couple's two children: "They are so small, they are five and four. And it's just thinking how scared they must have been."
Ajay Kumar Ramesh
Mr Ramesh was seated in a different row to his brother, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose survival is being hailed as a miracle.
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Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, Jay, a relative of the brothers, said Vishwash asked about Ajay when he contacted his father after the tragedy.
Jay said: "After the crash, he spoke to his dad worrying about his brother saying, 'Where's Ajay'?"
Raxa Modha, her daughter-in-law and infant grandson
A member of Raxa Modha's family has told Sky News she was in India for a religious ceremony after the death of her husband two months ago.
She had travelled with her daughter-in-law, Yasha and infant grandson Rudra.
All three of them were from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
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Sisters Heer and Dhir Baxi
The siblings, both in their early twenties, were returning home to London after surprising their grandmother for her birthday.
Their cousin Ishan Baxi, who lives in Ahmedabad, said both women had an "amazing aura" and wanted to "roam the world".
He said: "I am unable to control my tears even now also just because I was close to them, you just imagine what emotions parents are going through right now and think about guilt the grandma would feel right now.
"I just want God to bless those souls, all dreams, promises, aspirations vanished in seconds."
The couple, who ran a spiritual wellness centre in Ramsgate, Kent, filmed themselves laughing and joking at the airport just moments before boarding the plane.
The former editor of This Morning has paid tribute to Fiongal, who appeared on the show earlier this year, and his partner.
Martin Frizell said on Instagram: "I remember his visit to the studio in January, he was passionate about auras and although I'm a sceptical sort, his vibrancy and sheer enthusiasm won folk over."