Ahmedabad family's desperate search for music director whose last known location was 700 metres from Air India plane crash site

Indian Express

12 hours ago

Apart from the several distraught families grieving the loss of their loved ones, who died in the Air India plane crash, there is one that is anxiously looking for answers. The family of Mahesh Kalawadia (34), who directs music albums and was neither in the flight nor in the hostel where it crashed, has been looking for him in hospitals, morgues and police stations. So far, they haven't been able to trace him or the Activa scooter on which he was headed home.
The family is worried as Mahesh's last location before his phone switched off is nearly 700 metres from the BJ Medical College hostel that the Boeing Dreamliner crashed into.
His younger brother, Kartik (32), told The Indian Express, 'He spoke to his wife Hetal around 1:10 pm on Thursday and told her he just got done with a meeting near Law Garden. They shared a few jokes, and he said he was on his way to their Naroda residence.'
Kartik said that when Mahesh did not return home for an hour, Hetal dialled his number, which was switched off. 'She kept trying but could not get through,' he said.
When she heard about the plane crash, she called Kartik, who then started looking for his brother.
'While we were anxious, I felt there was nothing to worry about as the Meghani Nagar hostel where the incident took place would ideally not be a spot he would cross on the usual route,' Kartik said.
When he went to the police station, most officials were occupied with the crash. 'Over the next 24 hours, through some helpful cops, we found that the last location before my brother's phone was switched off was in Meghani Nagar, some 700 metres from the spot. We were told that mobile data does not show pinpoint location, so he may be closer to the accident spot,' he said.
Scared and partly confused why he would take that route, Kartik and their relatives went to all the hospitals in the area. 'We were told all bodies were at the Civil hospital. There too, we went through the list of the deceased, the injured and the unclaimed persons, but my brother was nowhere to be found. For the past two nights, we have been going from hospital to police station to the accident site, but there has been no update,' he said.
He has also been trying to trace his bike, which would provide some clues, but to no avail.
'We have given a complaint at the local Naroda police station, but they have not been able to do much, and we are just hoping to get some news of his safety,' he said.
Apart from Kalawadia, those missing since the crash include Sarlaben Thakor, the cook at the hostel mess, and her two-year-old granddaughter.