2 days ago
First picture of Air India crash victims killed alongside their young child
Akeel Nanawaba, 36, his partner Hanna Vorajee, 30, and their four-year-old daughter, Sarah were returning home from a five-day family celebration.
A British couple who were killed alongside their young child in the horror Air India plane crash have been pictured for the first time.
Akeel Nanawaba, 36, his partner Hanna Vorajee, 30, and their four-year-old daughter, Sarah were returning home from a five-day family celebration when the plane went down this morning. Akeel and Hanna ran a successful global recruitment business with offices in Gloucester and Ahmedabad.
Their friend and business partner Shoyeb Khan Nagori said: "I had dinner with them last night. They were a lovely family and Akeel and his wife were extremely successful people."
Struggling to speak about young Sarah, he added: "They were here to celebrate a family festival and to spend some time with Akeel's father. Akeel was a really good man, I'm in shock."
Another British family on board have now been named as hotel manager Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam, and their children Amani, four, and Zayn.
Mr Syed had earned recognition in his field, winning a Team Member of the Year award at the Comfort Inn London in Westminster in 2017. Most recently, he worked at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel.
Also feared dead are Raxa Modha, 55, her two-year-old grandson Rudra, and daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar. Mrs Modha had spent several months in India caring for her terminally ill husband Kishor, who had wished to spend his final days in his homeland.
The family, originally from Northamptonshire, were flying back to the UK following his recent death. A family friend said: 'It's incredibly sad, the whole family is already grieving Kishor's death.'
British influencer Jamie Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw are also among those feared dead. Just moments before boarding the ill-fated plane, wellness guru Meek, 45, and Greenlaw, 39, posted a video from Ahmedabad airport.
The pair - who co-founded the Wellness Foundry, a company promoting holistic living - are based in London and been on a holiday in India. They had previously made appearances on ITV's This Morning to showcase their wellness brand.
The Boeing 787 went down with more than 240 people aboard shortly after take-off, authorities said. It was the first fatal crash since the plane, also known as the Dreamliner, went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
A police commissioner had earlier said there appeared to be no one who had made it out of the crash before one man who had miraculously survived the tragic incident spoke to the Hindustan Times.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was travelling home from a holiday visiting family in seat 11A of the Gatwick-bound flight when it took off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
The British national, who said he suffered "impact injuries" on his chest, eyes and feet, explained there was "a loud noise" before the plane crashed. The 40-year-old, who has lived in London for 20 years, said: "It all happened so quickly."
Vishwash, who still has his boarding pass, said he was in India for a few days to visit his family and was going back to the UK with his 45-year-old brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh.
Sharing details of the terrifying experience, he 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."
Vishwash said his brother was seated in a different row on the plane and said: "We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him."
Ahmedabad police commissioner Gyanendra Singh Malik told the Associated Press that "some locals would also have died" when the plane fell on top of the dining area of B.J. Medical College.
Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the crash as a "tragic accident" and a "devastating event" and said emergency response teams are at the site.
Campbell Wilson, the chief executive of Air India, expressed his "deep sorrow" after the incident, adding: "This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones."
