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The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Young families, the sole survivor's brother and tragic final selfies: The British victims of Air India plane crash
A family of five beamed with joy from their plane seats, in a selfie they sent to their loved ones before takeoff. Just minutes later they were killed along with more than 200 passengers when the doomed Air India flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff. More than 50 Britons were among the 241 people who died when their Boeing 787 Dreamliner near Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday. Only one passenger from the Gatwick-bound flight has survived, with hundreds of families left devastated as footage quickly emerged on social media of the enormous fireball caused by the crash. Details are still emerging by the hour of the different victims, as work continues in India to identify the remains, and inform loved ones of their losses. What do we know about the victims? The grieving husband who has left two daughters A four-year-old girl and her eight-year-old sister have been left orphaned after their father died while travelling to India to scatter their mother's ashes. Arjun Patoliya had travelled to his late wife Bharatiben's village in Gujarat to respect her final wishes to have her ashes scattered in a local river. She had died last week after suffering from cancer, with the couple's children now losing both their parents within a week. The brother of the lone survivor British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is believed to be the only survivor of the crash, having miraculously walked away apparently with only minor injuries. He was travelling with his Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who is presumed dead along with the hundreds of other passengers on board. Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, Jay, a relative of the brothers, said Vishwash spoke to his father after the crash and asked after his brother. Jay said: 'After the crash he spoke to his dad worrying about his brother saying, 'Where's Ajay'?' His other brother, Nayankumar Ramesh, also told ITV News that Ajay was on the flight. 'Even though he's [Vishwash] survived and it's a miracle, we're still waiting to hear about our other brother,' he added. 'I'll see you tomorrow' were the last words he said to me - I was supposed to be picking them both up today from Gatwick." The doctor's family who took a final tragic selfie Dr Prateek Joshi, a radiologist at the Royal Derby Hospital, was on the Air India flight with his family, Derby Hindu Temple said. In a post on Facebook, the temple said the family were 'devotees of our Mandir and supported us through their sincere service and dedication. 'We pray to Lord Shiva to grant eternal peace to the departed souls and to give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense loss.' Smiling for the camera, the family of five sent a selfie to their loved ones after they boarded the plane, with their faces clearly showing their excitement to be on the way to London. His wife, Dr Komi Vyas, had recently given up her job in Udaipur to join Dr Joshi in London, where he had been living for the last few years. Widowed grandmother and her young grandson Among those on the Gatwick-bound flight were Raxa Modha, who is believed to have been flying back to England for a memorial service for her late husband. She and her two-year-old grandson Rudra had boarded the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which crashed just moments after clearing the runway. Tributes have flooded in for the family, who were based in Wellingborough, with one friend telling the BBC that Ms Modha was a 'kind, generous, loving' and a 'real people's person'. Raj Mishra, the mayor of Wellingborough, called for people to come together. "I extend my deepest condolences to their families, friends and all those affected by this heartbreaking event," he said. "May their memories be a blessing, and may we come together to support one another in this time of grief." The 'widely loved' family from Gloucester Tributes have also poured in for Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter, Sara, who have been identified as victims by the Gloucester Muslim Community. Sara was a 'ray of sunshine' who 'lit up the classroom', said Abdullah Samad, headteacher of her primary school. He said the married couple were well known for their charity work and generosity. 'They touched lots of people and they will be missed by lots of people,' he told the BBC. 'They helped fundraise for the humanitarian efforts in Gaza and medical care for poor individuals in India. That was part of their service to the community,' he said. Their neighbour, Gentian Cullhaj told The Independent that Sara would come to his house with chocolates and sweets from the parents to share with their own children. Holding back tears while stood in his driveway, Mr Cullhaj said of Akeel: 'I would always see him in the morning, out with his kid. When you got your own children you really feel it, what's happened. We won't ever see them again… he was a good neighbour and an even better friend.' The couple ran an outsourcing services business, Iceberg, with bases in both Gloucester and Ahmedabad. The London couple who posted moments before the flight A British couple who ran a spiritual wellness company are also believed to be among the victims. Jamie Ray Greenlaw-Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, from London, were returning home on the flight after a 10-day wellness retreat, Jamie Meek's brother said. Their company, the Wellness Foundry, which is in Vauxhall, south London, offers psychic readings, tarot cards and aura readings, and has worked with Netflix, Google and Dior. Its website says Fiongal founded the company in 2018 after experiencing a spiritual awakening following illness. His husband joined the team in 2023 as co-director and head of events, and offered psychic readings and life coaching. In January, Fiongal appeared on ITV's This Morning to talk about the meanings of people's auras. A clip shows him joking and laughing with presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard before performing a reading. On Instagram, the Wellness Foundry described the appearance as their 'biggest gig so far', adding that it was 'very nerve-wracking' but that he was 'honoured to chat about one of his favourite topics to such a big audience'. As they waited to board their flight in Ahmedabad, the couple posted a video from the airport about their 'magical experience' in India. The Harrods employee and her hotelier husband A British family of four – Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam, and their young children, Zayn and Amani – were also onboard the Air India flight. On her LinkedIn, Mrs Syed states she has worked for nearly a decade as a brand ambassador at luxury store Harrods, while Mr Syed worked as a hotel manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel. The family were reportedly returning home from a holiday in India.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Indian- origin UK man, father of two dies in Air India crash after honouring late wife's final wish
In a week marked by unimaginable grief, the story of Arjun Manubhai Patolia stands out as the most tragic among the victims of the Air India Flight AI 171 disaster. A devoted husband and father, he lost his life shortly after honouring his late wife's final wish, and now leaves behind two young daughters in London. The 36-year-old Indian-origin man lost his life in Thursday's catastrophic crash of Air India Flight AI‑171, just hours after performing the final rites for his wife in Gujarat . He had returned to his ancestral village of Vadiya, in Amreli district, to fulfil his wife Bharatiben's dying wish of immersing her ashes in the waters of the Narmada River . Bharatiben had passed away in London just a week prior. With two young daughters (aged 4 and 8) awaiting their return in the UK, Patolia performed the immersion rites alongside family in Vadiya. Soon after, he boarded the Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad. Arjun's nephew, Krish Jagdish Patolia told IndiaToday, 'It's heartbreaking. We have lost both of them in one week.' His daughters now face an unimaginable reality, both parents taken from them in the span of seven days
Mint
a day ago
- General
- Mint
Air India plane crash: Days after performing wife's last rites, man boards tragic flight
Air India crash: London-based Arjun Patolia boarded the Air India flight that tragically crashed on Thursday, days after performing the last rites of his wife in Gujarat. He was heading to meet his two young daughters, according to a report by the Daily Mail. Patolia visited the Amreli district of Gujarat to fulfil his wife, Bharatiben's, last wish, who passed away a week earlier. Bharatiben's final wish was to immerse her ashes in her village. Patiolia travelled to Gujarat to perform the last rites along with his extended family. A few days after the final rites, Patiola boarded Air India flight AI-171, expecting to return to his daughters, aged four and eight. Unfortunately, the flight crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, 12 June 2025. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, crashed in Ahmedabad's Meghani Nagar area near Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport at around 1:40 pm. In a post on the social media platform X, Air India wrote, 'The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital.' The airline further informed, 'The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national. The survivor is a British national of Indian origin.' Patiola's story is one among the several heartbreaking accounts that emerged after the tragic plane crash. Among the several stories shared, one was of Pratik Joshi, his wife, Kaumi Vyas, who shared a smiling selfie with their three young children on the Air India flight AI-171, just minutes before takeoff, ANI reported. Kaumi Vyas worked as a physician at Pacific Hospital in Udaipur. She shared a photo on social media of the family aboard a plane, with the couple smiling as their three children sat behind them, facing the camera. Joshi had lived in London for six years. His wife, Kaumi, resigned just two days prior to the trip to join the family abroad.
India Today
a day ago
- General
- India Today
Indian-origin London man dies in Air India crash after fulfilling wife's dying wish
A UK-based Indian man who had travelled to Gujarat to fulfil his late wife's final wish was among the 265 people killed in Thursday's devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent Manubhai Patolia, 36, had returned to his ancestral village of Vadiya in Amreli district to immerse his wife's ashes in the Narmada. His wife, Bharatiben, had died just a week earlier in London. Before Bharatiben passed away, she had asked her husband to take her ashes back to her completing funeral rites with relatives in Vadiya, Patolia was to return home to his two daughters, aged 4 and 8, who had remained in the UK. On Thursday, Patolia boarded an Air India flight headed to London's Gatwick Airport. Then, tragedy struck. "He had a ticket on Air India flight AI171. He was supposed to go to London, but the accident happened," Krish Jagdish Patolia, Arjun's nephew, told India Today. Arjun Patolia lived in London with his family. Flight AI171 crashed minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. The massive Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner ploughed into a medical college hostel in a residential area. Videos showed the aircraft losing altitude as it struggled to gain lift before erupting into a fireball upon were 230 passengers, including 169 Indians and 53 British nationals, and 12 crew members on the plane. Only one person survived."It's heartbreaking. We have lost both of them in one week," said Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and met injured survivors at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Friday, where identification of the victims is underway. A team of 70 to 80 doctors has been deployed for post-mortem examinations. So far, five victims have been identified and their bodies handed over to their are continuing to examine the cause of the crash. Forensic teams are at the scene, and aviation authorities have opened a formal probe. Air India has not released a statement on the specific cause, but stated that emergency support is being provided to affected tragedy has sent shockwaves through communities in both India and the United Kingdom, where diaspora families are mourning loved ones lost in the disaster.
Daily Record
a day ago
- General
- Daily Record
Dad-of-two killed in Air India crash after scattering wife's ashes in final wish
Arjun Patolia's daughters are just eight and four years old. A father of two young children who had travelled to India to scatter his late wife's ashes was tragically killed in Thursday's horror plane crash as he returned home. Arjun Patolia had been visiting the city of Amreli, in northern India, and was due to fly back to London on June 12. However, it was later confirmed he was one of the passengers on board the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. His wife Bharatiben had sadly died in London a week earlier, but one of her final requests was for her husband to take her remains back to India. He visited the Narmada River, a sacred place in the Hindu faith, with many people having their ashes scattered in rivers to purify the soul and ensure spiritual liberation. He then took part in funeral rites with family members in his village, which is around 150 miles from Ahmedabad, the Mirror reports. The couple had two daughters, aged eight and four, who live in London, according to local Indian media. Arjun's mother still lives in the city of Surat. The plane plunged to the ground just minutes after take-off at around 1.38pm local time on Thursday. It struck a residential area, with horrifying footage capturing the moment it fireballed. A "mayday" distress call had been issued by the crew, indicating an emergency on board. However, no further communication was received, with flight tracking service Flightradar24 reporting it lost signal from the aircraft seconds after it left the ground. Footage from eyewitnesses captured the moment the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner descended with its nose pointing upwards before disappearing out of sight. Seconds later, a loud explosion could be heard, followed by a huge fireball and thick smoke billowing into the sky. A British man is believed to be the sole survivor of the terrifying crash. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh claimed he was in seat 11A on the plane, and said he heard a loud noise around 30 seconds after take-off. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. The 40-year-old told the Hindustan Times: "When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital." His family said they had "no idea" how Vishwash had survived, but added his older brother Ajay was also on the flight. His younger brother Nayan Kumer Ramesh, 27, said: "We were just shocked as soon as we heard it. I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We're devastated, just devastated. He said I have no idea how I exited the plane."
