From reunion to farewell, the stories behind the faces lost in Air India AI171 crash
AHMEDABAD: The promise of new beginnings, the joy of a long-awaited reunion between father and son, a family's celebration of love and joy were all shattered in an instant when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed into the densely populated Meghaninagar area just minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad.
The accident claimed the lives of all but one of 242 passengers on board, including 12 crew members, in the country's worst aviation tragedies, leaving dozens of families in mourning.
Among the deceased were 18 people from North Gujarat, hailing from Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, and Aravalli districts.
Towns such as Visnagar, Kadi, Chandumana, Aithor, Dhanera, Palanpur, Modasa, Khambhisar, Bayad, and Danta have all lost lives in the tragedy, leaving behind a trail of heartbreak across Gujarat.
Kamlesh Chaudhary and his wife Dhapuben, a young couple from Thavar village in Dhanera, were on their way to settle in the UK. Their dreams, carefully built over years, came crashing down with the aircraft. Their grieving family is left clutching photos and memories, instead of visa papers and airport hugs.
In Visnagar, the pain is just as raw. Dinesh Kumar Patel, a lifelong farmer, was taking his first flight — a trip to London to visit his son. His friends had thrown him a heartfelt farewell on the farm, where the old Bollywood song 'Tu Kal Chala Jayega To Main Kya Karunga' played in the background.
None imagined that the song would become an elegy.
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