
Came To See Ailing Mother, Never Made It Back: UK Family Of 4 Lost In Ahmedabad Plane Crash
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Javed's brother, Imtiyaz Ali, along with their uncle, Ayub Shaikh, has travelled to Ahmedabad to retrieve his remains and provide blood samples for DNA identification.
The Ahmedabad plane crash has shattered several families, leaving them in shock. The families and friends of the victims are still struggling to process the loss and accept that their loved ones will not return. British national Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam, and their children Amani and Zayn were among the 241 victims who died after the London-bound AI 171 crashed on 12 June.
Javed, who acquired British citizenship after marrying Mariam, moved to the UK 11 years ago. The family had travelled to Mumbai last week to visit Javed's ailing mother.
'She is suffering from a heart ailment, and moreover, the festival of Eid ul-Adha was scheduled to take place. So Javed came with his family to get her treated and celebrate the festival with us," cousin Saood Memon told the Times of India.
He also added that the couple and their children had hoped to book a flight from Mumbai to London, but unable to secure one, they travelled to Ahmedabad to fly from there, according to the TOI report.
Javed's brother, Imtiyaz Ali, along with their uncle, Ayub Shaikh, has travelled to Ahmedabad to retrieve his remains and provide blood samples for DNA identification.
Javed worked as a manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel, while his wife, Mariam, was a brand ambassador at Harrods. The bodies of the British family have not yet been recovered.
Imtiyaz, who was in Ahmedabad searching for the bodies of his brother, was deeply shocked by the incident.
Meanwhile, the British High Commission in India has established a reception centre at the Ummed Hotel near Ahmedabad airport to offer support and guidance to the families and friends of British nationals. The victims include 53 British citizens.
According to an official statement, the UK Reception Centre will be open from 9 am to 9 pm daily, starting today. In a post on X, the British High Commission in India stated, 'The UK has set up a Reception Centre in the Ummed Hotel to provide support and advice for the families and friends of British nationals following the plane crash on 12 June. The UK Reception Centre, near Ahmedabad airport, will be open from 09:00 to 21:00 every day, starting today."
First Published:
June 14, 2025, 18:25 IST
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Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
DNA of 19 victims matched, more remains discovered
Doctors in Ahmedabad worked round the clock to match blood and DNA samples to slivers of charred remains, forensic investigators combed through mangled pieces of metal for human parts, and rescuers cut through the wreckage to pull out bodies on Saturday as authorities struggled to arrive at the final toll of India's worst single-aircraft tragedy. Officials said they pulled out three bodies from the debris on Saturday, adding to the already staggering toll from the Thursday afternoon crash of the London-bound Air India 171 flight just outside Ahmedabad airport, even as it became clear that people had died not just on the plane or in the hostel it slammed into, but also the neighbourhood. The government has confirmed that only one of the 242 people on board the plane survived, and eight bodies of people who died at the BJ Medical College hostel were handed over to their families on Friday. In addition, the 15-year-old son of a tea-seller who was sleeping under a tree, Akash Patni, was confirmed dead as well. Around 20 more people – all on the ground – were feared dead, but confusion reigned on the exact number. 'As of Friday, the death toll stood at 270. Today, we recovered three additional bodies, including one from the tail section of the aircraft. Search and recovery operations for the remaining victims continue,' a police official stated. But Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College, told reporters that at least 270 bodies were recovered from the site of the crash. 'The eight bodies handed to the families on Friday did not need DNA identification. They had died after the wall collapsed. But 11 passenger bodies were examined for DNA sampling on Saturday because of the burn injuries. It matched with the blood samples given by the victims,' said medical college dean Meenakshi Desai, adding that the hospital authorities were waiting for four families to give their samples. Later in the evening, state home minister Harsh Sanghavi said in a post on X that the matching process for 19 victims was completed. 'DNA Matching Progress: 19 DNA samples have been matched so far, confirming the identities of victims,' he said. Emergency services continued recovery efforts, extracting a badly burnt body from the wreckage on Saturday before cranes were deployed to clear debris. DNA identification is underway to confirm victim identities, with relatives, some traveling to India, providing samples to assist. The flight carried 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian passenger, along with 12 crew members. The deceased include at least four medical students and two of their relatives who were inside the hostel where the plane crashed. Only one British nation, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived. Three forensic science laboratory teams were engaged in DNA sample analysis, and so far, blood samples from 248 relatives were collected, a Civil Hospital official said on condition of anonymity. At the Trauma Centre, the health department deployed five teams comprising around 100 specialists and assistants in orthopaedics, neurology, medicine, plastic surgery, and burns. Additionally, a team of 32 experts and 20 assistants was stationed at the post-mortem room, while 12 experts were operating at the testing facility of B.J. Medical College. The DNA matching process is being conducted with support from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the National Forensic Science University (NFSU). Hospital authorities have established strict protocols. A close relative who provided the DNA sample should come in person to collect the body. If unavailable, other close family members may collect the body. If the person who gave the DNA sample cannot come personally, they must send an authorised representative with a proper authority letter. Some relatives expressed frustration that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process. Navib Sheikh, who lost four members of his family, asked, 'The doctors are saying it will take 72 hours. The mother of the girl who died does not know that her daughter is no more. We gave the DNA samples on the day the incident took place. Why is it taking so long?' Sheikh's relatives Mariam Ali Syed, her husband Javed, and their two children, Zayn, 5, and Amani, 4, perished. State Emergency Commissioner Alok Pandey said the deceased were from 18 of Gujarat's 33 districts. 'A grief counsellor has been appointed for each family to address the mental trauma. The families of the 11 foreign nationals have also been contacted, and they will arrive here by noon tomorrow,' he added. Dean Desai said, 'The forensic science laboratory is working round-the-clock to match the samples. We hope to release the report of 10-20 samples every day. The bodies of the passengers are being handled in a dignified way.' Explaining the process, Desai said that the tissue from bones and teeth of charred bodies were taken up for DNA profiling. ' Taking samples in case of a charred body is possible but it takes time. In case of immediate relatives, the results are delivered immediately. For distant relatives, it may take time. But all bodies will be identified and handed to the families for a dignified funeral.' Throughout Saturday, families of those who died in the crash continued to wait outside the mortuary. Among them was Yash Mistry, a resident of Anand in Gujarat, whose sister, Kinal, was among the passengers on the Air India flight. 'This morning, a police inspector explained the process. We have been given a slip with a number. The hospital authorities said that each one of us will get a call, once the body is identified. We have been told to present this slip containing the number at the counter in the hospital. Once they match the number and our identity, then the bodies will be returned.' Police officials at the mortuary said that each passenger, whose identity was not known, too was assigned a number. 'The number and the blood sample given by the relatives is matched. This is how the bodies will be handed. We have told the relatives not to stand in this heat outside the mortuary and urged them to return to the accommodation provided by the government until then,' they added. Aamir, whose brother Irfan Sheikh, a flight crew member, is suspected to be among the dead, said the hospital authorities said that the body would be handed in by Saturday night or soon. 'We are hoping to receive a call from the hospital anytime. Each time the phone rings, we hope this is a call from them. We want to take our brother home at the earliest.'


Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ahmedabad Air India Plane Crash Live: 19 victims identified by DNA
The horrific crash of Air India Flight AI171 on Thursday, June 12, 2025, has left the nation in profound grief, with the confirmed death toll now standing at 279. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex shortly after takeoff, claiming 241 lives on board and an additional 38 on the ground. Only one passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, miraculously survived and is recovering. The grim task of identifying victims is heavily reliant on DNA matching, as many bodies were severely damaged or charred. As of Saturday night, 19 victims had been formally identified, with forensic teams working tirelessly. Families, like that of Lawrence Daniel Christian who tragically perished just days after his father's death, are grappling with unimaginable loss. Investigations are paramount, with the flight data recorder (black box) recovered; aviation expert Alok Singh highlighted potential causes including dual engine thrust loss, bird strike, pilot error, or technical fault. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has initiated extended surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet. In response to the tragedy, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called for national solidarity and a thorough investigation, while major insurers like SBI Life, HDFC Life, and ICICI Lombard have eased their claim settlement processes to expedite financial relief for the grieving families.


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