Latest news with #B787BoeingDreamliner
Indian Express
2 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Body of flight attendant found in tail end of Air India flight
The body of an Air India flight attendant on board Air India flight AI 171 has been retrieved from the tail section of the ill-fated aircraft, officials said. The London-bound B787 Boeing Dreamliner Air India flight carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed into BJ Medical College and Hospital's Atulyam hostel soon after it took off on June 12. The crash killed all but one of the passengers as well as four medical students and a doctor's wife. It was the tail section that crashed into the hostel mess, where the medical students and the doctor's wife had been having lunch. Search operations continue at the site, which now has heavy security as investigation continues into the cause of the crash. 'Personnel of the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services were working on the tail section of the aircraft, which is lodged in the mess area of the hostel. While cutting through it, they found the body of the flight attendant,' one official said. Chief Fire Officer Amit Dongre said the body had been sent to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for autopsy. The body has yet to be identified.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
‘He had finished lunch, was washing hands when plane crashed into hostel': 2nd-year medical student's life cut short
Jaiprakash Chaudhary was a person of many firsts. Son of a labourer and a second-year medical student at BJ Medical College and Hospital, he was the first of his family to go to college and, if he had lived, would have been the first doctor in his remote Barmer village of Bor Charanan – something that his family would advertise proudly. But the 20-year-old's life was tragically cut short when the London-bound B787 Boeing Dreamliner Air India flight carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed into the BJ Medical College and Hospital hostel soon after it took off Thursday afternoon. The crash killed 241 of 242 passengers and crew on board and five people at the hostel, four medical students, and a doctor's wife – all of them in the hostel's second floor mess at the time of the crash. Of these, 12 people – 11 on board the plane and Jayprakash – are from Rajasthan. According to a family member, Jaiprakash had spoken to them just before he went for lunch. He got into the government medical college after scoring 686 out of 720 in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) two years ago. He is survived by his father, mother and younger school-going sibling. 'From what we were told, Jaiprakash had finished his lunch and was washing his hands when the plane crashed into the hostel building. The flames after the crash and the weight of debris both killed him. Initial reports said he had 30 percent burns in his body,' the family member said. As his family brought his body back to the village Friday, several officials — including Barmer district collector Tina Dabi — came down to pay their respects. But Jayprakash wasn't the only young life that was lost in the crash. In Udaipur's Saheli Nagar, the house of marble businessman Sanjiv Modi has plunged into deep mourning after both of his children –son Shubh, 25 and daughter Shagun, 23 – died in the crash. The two were on their way to London for a vacation. As they wait for the siblings' bodies to be identified and brought home, the family is inconsolable, Satish Bhandari, a relative, said. 'They were going to London for a vacation. Subh had done chemical engineering from London and he was going to visit some of his friends. The sister decided to tag along,' he said. In a video that went viral soon after her death, 22-year-old Khushboo Rajpurohit from Balotra district in Rajasthan is seen weeping as she parts with her family. Married only a few months, Khusboo was going to London to join her husband Vipul Singh, who works there. The heartbreaking video shows Khushboo hugging every female member of her family as she bids them farewell. 'Her father had gone to Ahmedabad to drop her,' Thank Singh, a relative, told The Indian Express. 'He was on his way back when he heard the news of the crash.' Devastated, the family is now in Ahmedabad waiting for the body to be identified. Meanwhile, her husband Vipul is expected to arrive Saturday. 'DNA samples have been given to the hospital for identification. Once that's done, we'll bring the body for the funeral. In only a few days, we went from joy to mourning,' he said.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
‘Hum bas umeed lagaye baithe hai': Family awaits news on Agra couple after Air India crash
In the dusty bylanes of Akola, nestled on the outskirts of Agra, grief clings to the plastered walls and uneven cement floors of a small family home, where the Lavania family waits for news — any news — of Neeraj Lavania and his wife Aparna, who were aboard the Air India Flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London. On Thursday afternoon, the B787 Boeing Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in the Meghaninagar area — minutes after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport. The flight had only one survivor. There has been no news of the Agra couple since. At the heart of the village, all eyes turn to one house — that of Neeraj's elder brother, Satish Lavania, a grocery store owner who continues to live in their parental home. Since the news broke, women and men from across the neighbourhood have been pouring in. In a cramped room, Arpita, Neeraj's sister-in-law, lies motionless on a bed. Her eyes are vacant, her lips sealed. Around her, her two young children, her sister, and niece sit close, trying to offer comfort without knowing how. The only sound is the persistent screech of a ceiling fan, occasionally interrupted by soft sobs. 'Woh issi ghar ke bete hai… Vadodara mein job karte the, manager the kisi badi company mein. Hum bas umeed lagaye baithe hai ki kuch acchi khabar milegi (He is the son of this family… he used to work in Vadodara, he was a manager in a big company. We are just hoping for some good news),' says Deeksha, Arpita's niece. The house is crowded with women — some crouched on the floor, others clutching each other for strength. They murmur prayers, offer water, whisper reassurances that even they don't fully believe. 'Himmat se kaam lo… accha hi hoga, sab log accha sochoge toh accha hi hoga (Be brave… only good will happen, if you think positively, then good things will happen),' says a neighbour as she wipes Arpita's tears. Another woman tries to smile, 'Abhi toh woh (Satish) raste mein hai… hospital pahuchke pata chalega. Sab accha hoga (Right now he (Satish) is on his way… we will know once he reaches the hospital. Everything will be fine).' Satish, a relative, along with a few male relatives, left for Ahmedabad early Friday morning to identify the couple. He had spoken to Neeraj just before the couple boarded the flight. Their 18-year-old daughter, who just began her first year of college, is under the care of her maternal grandmother in Vadodara. In the verandah, where the men sit quietly, visitors include the local MLA, pradhan, and neighbours — some offering condolences, others simply sitting in solidarity. 'There was a woman who missed the flight because she got stuck in traffic. She was saved,' says Gambhir Singh Chahal, the village pradhan. 'Par jab jiska samay aa jaaye… usse jaana hi padta hai… ('But when someone's time comes… he has to go…)' Harswaroop, Neeraj's cousin, speaks in a hushed tone, 'My son has gone with Satish. We haven't told the women yet… not fully. They'll faint if we do. The men are trying to manage the grief — we're still waiting for the right moment to tell the women.' As stories from Neeraj's past resurface, his uncle Veer Prakash Lavania sits near the doorway and recounts his life. 'He was a lovely boy… always smiling, always joking,' he says, 'He left Akola 20 years ago. He first worked in the Netherlands for two years, then settled in Vadodara. But he always came back — on Holi, Diwali, family functions and weddings — without fail. He would meet his old friends, some who now teach in schools here, others who farm. He had gone far ahead in life, but never left his roots.' The last time he visited, he hugged old classmates, laughed with neighbours, and walked these very lanes. None of them thought it would be the last time, he added.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Newly-wed groom, would-be parents among plane crash victims from Gujarat
Isha Maheshwari can't stop looking at her mehendi-darkened hands as she waits in a daze for news of her husband, Bhavik. It's only been two days since the couple married but even before it could fully sink it, Bhavik's life was tragically cut short by the Air India plane crash Thursday. Bhavik, 26, was a passenger on seat number 26F on the London-bound B787 Boeing Dreamliner Air India flight carrying 242 passengers and crew members that crashed in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area near the city's airport Thursday afternoon, minutes after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport Ahmedabad. The flight had only one survivor — Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, a passenger on seat 11A. Bhavik, who lives in London, came back home to Vadodara 10 days ago for the wedding on June 10. As soon as she heard the news, Isha, 26, fainted, her family tells The Indian Express. 'Isha ki toh mehndi bhi nahi sukhi hai,' her aunt tells The Indian Express as the family waited in the basement of Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKRDC) on the Civil hospital campus. Loud wails ring across the auditorium as tense families wait for news. The weeping and wailing stops only when the names of passengers are called out. Also waiting for news were Nautik Mate, 27, and his wife Shibhangi. Nautik's sister 27-year-old Pooja and 30-year-old brother-in-law Harshit were among the flight's passengers. The couple had been expecting a baby and were on their first visit back home after they moved to the United Kingdom a year ago. 'Pooja was on a study visa that got extended recently. Both met each at a job in Ahmedabad and got married around six years ago. Pooja was visiting for a medical checkup,' her friend Anand Sharma tells The Indian Express as he tries to console the family. In one corner, Trupti Soni waits for news of her brother Swapnil, 45, his wife Yoga, 44, and another sister-in-law, Alpa. The family was on its way to London to meet her brother and Alpa's husband Nishit, who had set off on a road trip from Ahmedabad to London three months ago and was to reach his destination Friday. The family was seated next to former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who also died in the crash. 'My brother and sisters-in-law had planned to reach London to receive Nishit. Look at God's will. Now Nishit had to cut his trip short to get here,' Trupti says. In the auditorium, Jignesh and Janki Patel are waiting for any news of their relatives, Kokilaben Patel, 65, and Shashikantbhai Patel, 70. The couple from Anand were on their way to London to meet their son, 'My cousin called from London and informed us that his parents were onboard this flight. We knew they were flying but were not sure about their dates and flight,' Janki says. Ranjanben Patel, 63, and Pravinbhai Patel, 64, from Kheda too were on their annual visit to London, where their son Mehul lives. 'They visit him every year but this is beyond our wildest imagination,' their relative Jigar Patel, 31, says.
