Air India plane crash: Couple expecting baby among victims
A seven-month pregnant woman and her husband were among those to die in the Air India plane crash. Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his 27-year-old wife Jinal Goswami had travelled to Ahmedabad for their baby shower. The couple were living in Croydon, London, but had recently moved from Southampton in Hampshire where Mr Patel had worked. Their close friend Nirav Patel told the BBC the pair were very happy and excited for the birth of their first child.
Their funeral was held in India on Monday.Nirav, who lives in Southampton, said he had been friends with Vaibhav for over a decade and knew him from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
He said that Viabhav, who had been married to his wife for four years, was a "good person who always supported his family and friends"."When he worked in Southampton I saw him a lot. We worked together at Papa Johns in Portswood. "The couple were in Ahmedabad to celebrate their own baby shower. It was on the 5 June. She was seven months pregnant. They were very happy. "Vaibhav did not have a father, so he was the big son supporting the family back in India."Nirav said news of the came as a huge shock to him and all of the family in India.
"He had rung me two days before the flight to tell me he was coming home," he said. "We were very good friends and had so much fun together... many trips around India, like to Goa or Rajasthan. This is a massive loss."The manager of Papa John's in Portswood, Southampton, where Vaibhav Patel had previously worked said he was a "true gentleman". Harshil Thaker said his ex-employee "worked very hard and was a family man".There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight.Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash.
You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Leicester family desperate for news after Air India plane crash
The family of a British man feared to have been on board the Air India flight that crashed in India say they are desperate for answers about what happened to Rafik was returning home to Leicester when the plane he was due to be travelling on crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on 25-year-old's family say they have not yet received official confirmation about whether he was on board or if so what has happened to his cousin Sameer Rafik said his family had been left "completely stuck and don't know what to do". A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said an advice helpline and a support centre had been set up near the airport. On Tuesday, Sameer said his family had provided DNA more than four days ago, but had still heard nothing."There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive," he said."We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere."Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything."We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?"The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, including 53 was a single passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who survived the crash. Faizan was retuning the UK after visiting his wife in Bharuch, Gujarat for their first Eid celebration has backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the added: "We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died."It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin."We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment."Over the weekend, doctors in India said 270 bodies had been recovered from the site of the crash. A statement from the FCDO said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash."The BBC has contacted Air India for a statement and is awaiting a response.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Moment miracle Brit survivor of Air India jet heads BACK to burning wreck to rescue brother saying ‘I have to save him'
THIS is the astonishing moment miracle Brit Vishwash Ramesh rushed back to the burning Air India plane to save his brother. The 40-year-old sole survivor was captured staggering towards the blazing students' hostel - which claimed 38 lives - as black smoke billowed in the sky. 9 9 Footage emerged today shows emergency worker Satinder Singh Sandhu flailing his arms in the air in a desperate attempt to stop the Brit from walking back into the crash site. Dressed in a white t-shirt and trousers, Vishwas is seen eventually wandering over to the emergency worker as flames leapt behind him. Satinder revealed how he pleaded with the dad not to return to the inferno, warning he would died if he did. He recalled shouting as loud as he could to grab the dazed man's attention, then "begging him not to go back in there." Amid panicked crowds, the surviving Brit turned to Satinder and said: "My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him." According to the emergency worker, Vishwas was very disoriented, and limping but was still able to speak coherently. He told the Mail Online: "There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family." Locals appear rushing around in panic and calling the emergency services when they spotted him. The businessman was taken to the 1,200-bed Civil Hospital less than a mile from Ahmedabad airport where the doomed Air India flight had taken off from before crashing just 33 seconds later. His dad Ramesh has been at his bedside but has been too upset to talk since the tragedy in which he lost his youngest son Ajay. Family friend Deepak Devjil said: 'He is still grappling with the tragedy.' The dad received a special Father's Day gift yesterday when his four-year-old son sent his best wishes. His youngster and wife have travelled to India following the crash and the family will soon be reunited, but Vishwash spoke to his son on the phone yesterday. The story of Vishwash's escape has astounded the world - and left experts speculating over how he cheated death. His brother, Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, was sitting five seats away and tragically lost his life in the crash. Vishwash was sitting in seat 11A when the plane came down, which is right by the emergency exit. The Brit, whose family is from Leicester, told local media he was able to push open the plane's fuselage and get out before the plane blew up. 9 9 9 But it is currently unclear whether the opening Vishwash "slipped out" of was the emergency door or a rupture in the aircraft's fuselage. Aerospace and aviation professor Graham Braithwaite speculated the lucky Brit may have actually been flung out of the wreckage. He said: "The aircraft was loaded with fuel and it crashed into a heavily populated area. "I can only imagine that he was thrown from the wreckage, and that somehow as it crashed, what it hit managed to absorb some of the impact." He added: "Looking at the scene, I would imagine that the disruption to the aircraft would have been huge. "If anybody could have got out, then they probably could have just gone out in a gap in the fuselage - you'd struggle to infer from this, therefore, that is the seat you must always sit in." Vishwash has relayed his memory of the moment the plane went down, and his account could hold the key to figuring out what went wrong. One detail in particular has peaked the interest of crash investigators. The Brit revealed that the cabin lights began flickering just before the jet sank through the air. He said: "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." Vishwash's flickering lights revelation came after a passenger who travelled on the plane the day before the crash claimed electrical parts such as the back-of-seat screens weren't working. Aviation experts have speculated that the reports of dodgy electrics could be a sign of a power failure, possibly explaining the crash. 9 9 9
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Air India plane crash: Couple expecting baby among victims
A seven-month pregnant woman and her husband were among those to die in the Air India plane crash. Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his 27-year-old wife Jinal Goswami had travelled to Ahmedabad for their baby shower. The couple were living in Croydon, London, but had recently moved from Southampton in Hampshire where Mr Patel had worked. Their close friend Nirav Patel told the BBC the pair were very happy and excited for the birth of their first child. Their funeral was held in India on who lives in Southampton, said he had been friends with Vaibhav for over a decade and knew him from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He said that Viabhav, who had been married to his wife for four years, was a "good person who always supported his family and friends"."When he worked in Southampton I saw him a lot. We worked together at Papa Johns in Portswood. "The couple were in Ahmedabad to celebrate their own baby shower. It was on the 5 June. She was seven months pregnant. They were very happy. "Vaibhav did not have a father, so he was the big son supporting the family back in India."Nirav said news of the came as a huge shock to him and all of the family in India. "He had rung me two days before the flight to tell me he was coming home," he said. "We were very good friends and had so much fun together... many trips around India, like to Goa or Rajasthan. This is a massive loss."The manager of Papa John's in Portswood, Southampton, where Vaibhav Patel had previously worked said he was a "true gentleman". Harshil Thaker said his ex-employee "worked very hard and was a family man".There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
