Ahmedabad plane crash: ‘Her phone still rings' - Manipur family clings to hope for 20-year-old cabin crew
NEW DELHI: In a quiet home in Manipur, grief and hope wage a silent, desperate war.
The phone rings. Again. And again. No one picks up.
The number belongs to Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, a 20-year-old cabin crew member aboard Air India Flight AI 171, which crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday.
For her family in Manipur's Thoubal district, every unanswered call deepens the dread, but also keeps a flicker of hope alive.
'Her phone rang several times. The internet is still on. It's still receiving signals. That means something, doesn't it?' says K Khenjita, a close relative, told news agency PTI.
The London-bound Boeing 787 had 242 people on board. It stayed airborne for barely half a minute. Then it was gone - crashing into a doctors' hostel, leaving behind a trail of fire, twisted steel, and unimaginable loss.
As the news of the crash spread, a piercing wail rose from the Sharma residence. Nganthoi's family had last heard from her just before takeoff.
'I'm going to London. In a few minutes, we'll take off. We may not be able to talk for a while,' read the message.
They didn't know those words might be her last.
'She always feared plane crashes'
Nganthoi was not new to the skies. She had worked as cabin crew with Air India for three years, ever since she got selected at a recruitment drive in Imphal, while still pursuing her undergraduate studies.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Metal Roof Upgrade Alert – Is Your Zip Code on the New Approval List?
Metal Roof USA
Learn More
Undo
She was based in Mumbai, a city she had grown to love.
But her cousin reveals a chilling memory: 'She once told me she was terrified of plane crashes. She didn't know what she'd do if she was in one. That fear haunted her.'
Today, that fear has turned into the family's nightmare.
Inside the house, her youngest sister, a student of Class 9, sits frozen, while her eldest sister, a private school teacher, tries to shield the rest of the family from the blizzard of unverified reports flooding social media.
'There's fake news going around that she has died. People are sharing her photos, videos ... without any confirmation. We're struggling for real information, and these posts just make everything worse,' says a cousin, her voice cracking with frustration.
Nganthoi a middle child, loved the sky, even if she feared it. Her family remembers her as bright, responsible, and full of life—a girl who 'tried her luck' at an airline interview and ended up flying halfway across the world.
Now, her family waits for any shred of news.
Two of her relatives, one based in Delhi, another in Chandigarh, are rushing to Ahmedabad, hoping to find her, identify her, or at least confirm the unbearable.
'We stopped calling her around 6 pm,' said Khenjita. 'We were scared the phone battery would die. That ringtone ... it felt like she was still somewhere, waiting.'
The official list of casualties is yet to be released.
And until the phone goes silent, they believe she might still be alive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
20 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘When I opened my eyes': How lone survivor managed to exit crashed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Vishwaskumar Ramesh thought he would be among the dead after the Air India plane he was travelling in crashed soon after take-off. However, his fate differed from that of his over 200 co-passengers. Ramesh turned out to be the lone survivor after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew members took off for London from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday but collided into a medical college hostel after quickly losing altitude and erupted into a ball of flame. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the 40-year-old British national, who is currently hospitalised, and enquired about his health and the events that transpired on the fateful flight. On Thursday, social media videos had captured Ramesh walking out of the charred wreckage of the aircraft. 'When I opened my eyes after the crash, for a few moments, I thought I would die too,' he told DD News from his hospital bed. Kumar, who was sitting on seat 11A next to an emergency exit, detailed what he saw on the seconds-long flight that ended in a disaster. 'I don't know how I came out of it alive…I thought I was going to die. But I opened my eyes, saw I was alive, unbuckled my seat belt, and just crawled out. Everyone around me… airhostess, they didn't make it,' he said. #WATCH | DD News held an exclusive conversation with #Vishwashkumar, the only survivor of the Ahmedabad plane crash.#planecrashahmedabad #AirIndiaFlightCrash |@neerajddnews — DD News (@DDNewslive) June 13, 2025 He said the aircraft door was ripped open when the aircraft slammed into the building. 'I was close to the ground floor. There was space, and I crawled out from there. The building wall was on the other side…I don't think anyone else could have escaped from there.' Asked how the crash came about, he said: 'The crash occurred barely a minute after takeoff.' 'Suddenly, it felt like the plane got stuck. Green and white lights flashed. The pilot seemed to try to lift it again, but the aircraft went full speed into the building.' A fireball rose high into the sky, visible from afar. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, adjacent to the crash site, is treating Kumar and several others who were injured. On Friday morning, PM Modi arrived in Ahmedabad to assess the aftermath of the fatal accident. He was accompanied by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Civil Aviation Minister K R Naidu, the latter of whom had briefed Union Home Minister Amit Shah a day earlier after inspecting the crash site. Modi also visited Civil Hospital to meet with Kumar and those injured in the crash. According to Air India, the flight carried a total of 242 people — 169 Indians, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani — 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. All 12 crew members, including the two pilots, lost their lives.
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Air India crash site hit 1,000 deg C; lava-like temperature left little scope for escape
The temperature in and around the crashed Air India plane site increased to about 1,000 degree Celsius, which made the rescue operations extremely difficult, PTI news agency reported on Thursday night, citing officials. "As the (aircraft's fuel) tank exploded, it created an inferno where temperature rose to 1,000 degrees Celsius in no time. This left little chance for anyone to escape," a senior fire official was quoted as saying by the news agency. Follow LIVE updates. For context, lava from volcanoes can reach temperatures between 1140 and 1170 degrees Celsius. An SDRF officer, who joined the force in 2017, stated that he has dealt with crisis situations before but has never encountered such a disaster. "We came here with PPE kits. But the temperature was so high that it made operations difficult. There were debris everywhere. So we had to clear the debris that were already simmering," he said. Also Read | Air India plane crash: Gujarat ATS recovers digital video recorder from debris Earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah, who visited the crash site on Thursday, said that the plane was carrying 1.25 lakh litres of fuel. 'There was 1.25 lakh litres of fuel inside the plane and it caught fire so it was impossible to save anyone,' Amit Shah told reporters. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft (AI171), which carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed into the complex of a medical college on Thursday afternoon. It had taken off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Also Read | Visitors throng Air India crash site, take selfies near aircraft wreckage One person survived the crash, while 241 on board were killed. Of the total passengers onboard, there were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals, apart from 12 crew members. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.
News18
24 minutes ago
- News18
'One Of The Darkest Days': Tata Group's Chandrasekaran Promises Transparency After Air India Crash
Last Updated: 'Words are no consolation right now, but my thoughts are with families and loved ones of the people who died and were injured in the crash. We are here for them': Tata chairman. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has termed the crash of the Air India Flight AI 171 near Ahmedabad as 'one of the darkest days in the Tata Group's history" in an emotional letter addressed to employees on Friday. Expressing profound grief, Chandrasekaran said the Group is in shock and mourning over the loss of lives, calling the tragedy incomprehensible. He also promised complete transparency once the findings are available. 'Words are no consolation right now, but my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the people who died and were injured in the crash. We are here for them," the letter read. Air India is owned by the Tata Group, which acquired the airline and officially took over it on January 27, 2022, nearly 69 years after the airline was nationalised. The acquisition marked a historic homecoming, as Air India was originally founded by J R D Tata in 1932. In his internal message, Chandrasekaran said efforts are underway to understand what went wrong. He added that investigative teams from India, the UK, and the US have arrived in Ahmedabad to probe the crash and that the Tata Group is extending full cooperation. 'Once we have verified facts, we will be transparent in our communication about how this tragedy took place," he added. Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route from Ahmedabad to London, crashed on June 12 shortly after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 241 of the 242 persons on board, including 12 crew members. 'We owe it to the families and loved ones, to our pilots and crew, and to you. The Tata Group takes its responsibility to society seriously, and that includes being open about what occurred yesterday," Chandrasekaran said. Referring to the speculation around the cause of the crash, he urged patience and said that only trained investigators can determine why a routine flight turned into such a calamity. 'Once we have verified facts, we will be transparent in our communication about how this tragedy took place," he added. Chandrasekaran also discussed the Group's acquisition of Air India, saying that ensuring the safety of passengers was the company's first and foremost priority. 'There was no compromising on it," he wrote. 'None of this matters to the people who suffered devastating losses yesterday. At this time, we can only assure them of our full support. We will pull together as a Group and find ways to help them," he wrote 'We built this Group on trust and care. It is a difficult moment, but we will not retreat from our responsibilities, from doing what is right. We will carry this loss. We will not forget," he wrote. N Chandrasekaran's Full Letter To Employees 'Dear Colleagues, This is a very difficult moment. What occurred yesterday was inexplicable, and we are in shock and mourning. To lose a single person we know is a tragedy, but for so many deaths to occur at once is incomprehensible. This is one of the darkest days in the Tata Group's history. Words are no consolation right now, but my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the people who died and were injured in the crash. We are here for them. I want to say that, like you, we want to understand what happened. We don't know right now, but we will. You know that in the past 24 hours, investigative teams from India, UK, and the US have arrived in Ahmedabad to investigate the crash. They have our full cooperation, and we will be completely transparent about the findings. We owe it to the families and loved ones, to our pilots and crew, and to you. The Tata Group takes its responsibility to society seriously, and that includes being open about what occurred yesterday. Right now, our very human instinct is to look for explanations that make sense of the calamity. There is plenty of speculation all around us. Some of it may be right, some of it may be wrong. I want to urge patience. We witnessed an enormous loss of life yesterday. Why this routine flight turned into a calamity is something trained investigators will help us understand when their work is complete. Once we have verified facts, we will be transparent in our communication about how this tragedy took place. As a Group trusted by so many, when we took over Air India, ensuring the safety of its passengers was our first and foremost priority. There was no compromising on it. None of this matters to the people who suffered devastating losses yesterday. At this time, we can only assure them of our full support. We will pull together as a Group and find ways to help them. We built this Group on trust and care. It is a difficult moment, but we will not retreat from our responsibilities, from doing what is right. We will carry this loss. We will not forget. top videos View all Sincerely, Chandra." About the Author First Published: June 13, 2025, 18:21 IST
