Kerala nurse's dream of new home, life back in India ends with Gujarat air crash
A 39-year-old nurse, Ranjitha Gopakumar, from Thiruvalla in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, was among the 241 passengers and crew killed in a catastrophic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday.Ranjitha, a mother of two, was working as a nurse in the United Kingdom and had returned to India just four days earlier. According to sources close to her, she had hoped to complete formalities related to her government job here, and resume service in Kerala.advertisementShe was planning to quit her job in the UK and rejoin the service in India. Having briefly worked in Salalah, Oman, before moving to the United Kingdom, Ranjitha had taken leave from the Kerala government health service to pursue better opportunities overseas.
Her return to India was filled with purpose: she intended to finalise the construction of a new house and bring her children and elderly mother into a safer, more stable life. Ranjitha is survived by her mother, Thulassykuttiyamma, and her children: 15-year-old Indhuchoodan, a Class 10 student, and 12-year-old Ithika, who is in Class 7. She also leaves behind two brothers.Before her Ahmedabad-London flight on Thursday, Ranjitha had boarded a connecting flight from Chennai to Ahmedabad, intending to continue her journey to the UK to collect her release certificate.advertisement'She was happy and hopeful when she left,' said a close relative. 'There were so many plans. So many dreams,' he added.News of the airplane crash sent waves of grief through Ranjitha's native town, with neighbours, friends and relatives gathered at the family home, offering condolences and sitting in silence with the family.The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, bound for London, ploughed straight into a medical college hostel moments after take-off on Thursday, sparking a massive blaze, in what is being called one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.At least 265 people were confirmed killed in this tragedy.
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