Last Instragram post of Air India flight couple from UK before boarding fatal plane
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek spoke of their love for the country just hours before the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plummeted into a building in the suburb of Ahmedabad.
A Brit couple believed to have been aboard the Air India flight that crashed on route to the UK shared a video as they prepared to board.
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who run a spiritual wellness centre, spoke of their love for the country just hours before the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plummeted into a building and was engulfed in flames in the suburb of Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat state.
The flight, with 242 people onboard including 53 British nationals, had been en route to Gatwick airport.
In a final Instagram video just moments before boarding the flight AI171, the couple said they were 'going back happily, happily, happily calm.'
Fiongal said: 'We are at the airport just boarding. Goodbye India on a 10-hour flight back to London.'
In earlier videos, sitting beside his husband, Fiongal spoke of his delight at the 'treasures' that they had bought to remind them of their trip.
He said: 'So it's our last night in India and we have had a magical experience really, there have been some quite mind-blowing things that have happened.'
Jamie added: 'We really have been on quite a journey, and then just spending the last night here in this amazing hotel, and we have just had the most delicious Tali food. It was a perfect way to round up the trip. Excited to share it all with you'.
The couple run The Wellness Foundry in south London and Ramsgate, which offers psychic readings, tarot, reiki and yoga.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
In January, Fiongal appeared on ITV's This Morning to chat about spirituality.
And in 2020 he spoke in a magazine interview about his proud 'Celtic roots', saying his father had Scottish heritage and his mum was Irish.
He said: 'I think culturally there is so much magic in Ireland and Scotland.'
The couple have been together since 2019 and wed in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2022.
A police commissioner said there appear to be no survivors from the disaster on Thursday afternoon.
Ahmedabad police commissioner Gyanendra Singh Malik told the Associated Press that 'some locals would also have died' in the crash.
Air India also said 169 passengers were Indian nationals, 53 were British, one was Canadian and seven were Portuguese.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Brit tourist missing in Brazil after suddenly vanishing from his AirBnb – leaving belongings and passport behind
Denis' friend says his disappearance is out of character WHERE'S DENIS? Brit tourist missing in Brazil after suddenly vanishing from his AirBnb – leaving belongings and passport behind A BRIT tourist has disappeared in Brazil with his passport and belongings left untouched at his AirBnb. Denis Kopanev, 33, who works as a financial analyst in London, was last spotted on CCTV leaving the rental on Monday. 4 Denis Kopanev, 33, has disappeared while travelling in Brazil Credit: Jam Press 4 His loved ones have not heard from him since Monday Credit: Jam Press 4 His last known location was very close to his AirBnb Credit: Jam Press Denis, who is Russian with British citizenship, was staying at the trendy neighbourhood of Gávea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's capital city. He was supposed to travel to São Paulo the following day to meet an American friend. The pair had planned to visit Fernando de Noronha - a volcanic archipelago about 215 miles off Brazil's northeastern coast. But Denis' family and friends have not heard from him since Monday. The last location shown on his phone is the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon - close to his AirBnb in Rio. He never checked out of the property and his passport and belongings were found in the room. His disappearance was registered at the local police station on Wednesday. Denis' best friend Benone Moura said the analyst loves Brazil and visits the country often - his last visit being six months ago. Benone considers his disappearance to be out of character. He said his friend, with whom he last spoke on Sunday, never travelled without letting loved ones know beforehand. Is THIS the moment that saved the sole Brit survivor? Vid shows debris fly from Air India jet…is it door he fled from? His family has been in contact with the British Embassy. A report has been filed, but the family are yet to receive any news. Denis' disappearance is being investigated by the Rio de Janeiro Whereabouts Discovery Unit (DDPA). He was last seen on CCTV wearing a beige jacket and trousers, a dark baseball cap and a white shirt. It comes as Brit tourist Ashton Jones, 29, was found in a hospital undergoing emergency brain surgery after vanishing on a night out in the Thai capital of Bangkok. Doctors there believe Ashton, who suffers from epilepsy, was attacked. Ashton's family in Cwmbran, Wales, were "worried sick" when they learnt the news. His cousin Sophie told The Sun: "It's heartbreaking because we're all really close. "We're shocked and going out of our minds because we don't know what's going on.
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
From souvenir stamps to different surnames: Five ways your passport could stop you boarding your flight
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MILLIONS of Brits will be heading abroad in the next few months to make the most of the summer holidays. However, thousands of families are also being caught out by a number of strict rules in place, which has seen them banned from their flight. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Stamps in your passport are just one of the ways you could be breaking the rules - and be banned from boarding your flight Credit: Getty Most of the confusion comes down to not knowing all of the passport rules in place. So we have explained the five ways that people are being forced to miss their holidays, all because they made a mistake with their passport. Fake souvenir stamps Some holiday destinations offer a souvenir in the form of a novelty stamp. Places such as Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan, Machu Picchu and Ciudad Mitad del Mundo in Ecuador (where the equator runs through) are just some of the places offering the fake stamps. Even in the UK, the Welsh village Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which has the world's longest place name offers them. However, don't be tempted to put the stamps in your actual passport, and instead ask for them on a piece of paper instead. One woman said she was stopped from entering Thailand after getting a stamp in Machu Picchu. Another was banned from her flight to the US because of a Hello Kitty stamp in Taiwan. Someone person on Reddit said they struggled to get a visa for India because of a novelty stamp, while another said they were banned from entering Malaysia for similar reasons. While some places might not might the stamps, it is best not to risk putting them in your passport. Brit yoga teacher stranded in Thailand & barred from return flight over 'tiny' passport problem…would YOU have noticed? 5 Novelty stamps are a huge risk to have in your passport Credit: Alamy Different surnames to your kids If you are going on holiday with any kids that don't share your last name, you could run into problems at the border. Strict anti-trafficking rules mean that border staff are required to ask for any documents that prove they are related to you, or you have permission to take them out of the country. For example, if they are your children but you do not share their surname, you will need something like a marriage certificate alongside your passport. Mum Eddi Fiegel was nearly banned from boarding their Eurostar home with their daughter from Disneyland Paris, as she was not married to her partner - so had a different surname to her. And a family missed their Christmas holiday to South Africa because their son had a different name to the mum, and the dad wasn't travelling with them. An alternative option is a consent letter, sharing permission from their legal guardian although this may not be accepted in all countries. Any minor damage (depending on country) When it comes to damaged passports, the UK government cite the following as damage: you cannot read any of your details any pages are ripped, cut or missing holes, cuts or rips in the cover cover coming away stains on the pages (for example, ink or water damage) Any passport that falls under these rules will need to be replaced. However, some countries have much stricter rules when it comes to what a damaged passport is. Indonesia is known for having some of the world's most restrictive rules with a number of travellers banned from travelling to Bali. One man said there was a "minuscule tear on the photo page, barely visible to the naked eye" while another person was told it was "too dirty" to be allowed. Any tiny tears or spills on a passport is likely to get you banned from a holiday to Bali. Vietnam is also just as strict, with the UK Foreign Office warning: "Your passport must have no damage. "British nationals have been denied entry and exit due to passport damage." 5 Bali (pictured) along with Vietnam have some of the strictest rules Credit: Alamy Incorrect expiry date One of the most common mistakes thousands of Brits are still making is having the correct expiry date on their passports. Pre-Brexit rules allowed UK passports to have a validity of 10 years and nine months (rolling over unused months from the previous passport). This is no longer allowed, so any extra months are no longer seen as valid. This is only affecting Brits with a burgundy passport, as the new navy passports only have a 10-year validity. If you have a different start date to an expiry date, you might run into trouble, so make sure to add 10 years to your start date to find your correct expiry. You will also need a few extra months on it depending which country you are travelling to. 5 Make sure you have enough empty blank pages to leave room for entry and exit stamps Credit: Alamy Not enough blank pages If you are a frequent traveller, you might find your passport is getting a bit full. But most countries require at least one page to be fully blank, to leave space for an entry and exit stamp. For Europe, every country requires one full page, while countries including Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Netherlands and Portugal require two pages. One person on Reddit said they were told to get a new passport as they only had "three [blank] pages scattered about," while another said they had to get an emergency passport in Bangkok after needing a full blank page to go to Laos. One of the strictest is South Africa, which requires three blank pages. Standard passports have 34 pages, so you might want to pay extra for a 54-page passport if you plan on travelling a lot. Or you can try the sneaky trick, where passengers put a blank post it note on a page so border officers don't use it to stamp.
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Miracle of seat 11A as singer survived fatal plane crash in exact same position
Ruangsak Loychusak, 47, from Thailand, survived a deadly crash in 1998 after sitting in seat 11A. Much like Air India survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was also sat in the same position A Thai popstar has revealed how he survived a plane crash in 1998 and was sitting in the same seat as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who miraculously made it out alive of the Air India disaster this week. Ruangsak Loychusak, 47, shared his eerie survival of the crash which killed 101 passengers on the Thai Airways flight TG261. He had set off from Bangkok to Surat Thani when it plummeted into a swamp. Although he no longer has his ticket, old news reports documented his brush with death at the time. Altogether, 101 out of 132 passengers and 14 crew members had died. 45 injuries were recorded after the catastrophe. After hearing about the unlikely news of the seat number, Ruangsak said he had "goosebumps". He stated: "The lone survivor of the plane crash in India was sitting in the same seat number as me, 11A. I want to offer my condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy." He added that nightmares of the crash plagued his life for a decade and said he suffered from breathing issues after the incident. "I had difficulty flying for 10 years after the crash. I would struggled breathing, even though the air circulation was normal. "I avoided speaking to anyone and always stared outside the window, blocking anyone from closing it to maintain my sense of safety. "If I saw dark clouds or a rainstorm outside, I would feel terrible, like I was in hell. I can still remember the sounds, smells, and even the taste of the water in the swamp the plane crashed into. For a long time, I would keep the feelings to myself." Over 20 years later, Ramesh survived a crash under similar circumstances and was also sat in seat 11A. Explaining how the disaster unfolded, he told DD News: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. "Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white. The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.' He added: 'At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage. I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.' It comes as the sole survivor of the Air India Flight 171 disaster revealed the horror moment before the plane erupted into a fireball near Ahmedabad Airport in western India during a shock crash. The plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, was carrying 242 people bound for Gatwick Airport when it crashed into a college in a residential area on Thursday. British passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, the sole survivor has told how the lights "started flickering" before the aircraft hit the ground. The 40-year-old told the Hindustan Times: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. "Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.'
