Latest news with #Leuva
The Journal
6 hours ago
- General
- The Journal
Families hold funerals for relatives who died in Air India plane crash
THE FUNERALS OF some of the people who died in the Air India plane crash on Thursday have taken place in India. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in Ahmedabad. 'My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?' said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery efforts. 'How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it,' Leuva said. One victim's relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. Advertisement Around 20 to 30 mourners gathered at a crematorium in Ahmedabad today, chanting prayers in a funeral ceremony for Megha Mehta, a passenger who had been working in London. Mourning relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 32 identified as of today. 'This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,' Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late Saturday. The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. Girls orphaned by crash Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the crash and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. Investigators after visiting Thursday's Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would 'give an in-depth insight' into what went wrong. Just one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. His brother was also on the flight. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Related Reads Death toll from Air India plane crash rises to 279 Miracle of Seat 11A: How did a passenger survive the Air India crash? Black box recovered from Air India plane crash site Among the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had travelled to India to scatter his wife's ashes following her death weeks earlier. 'I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us,' said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London's Harrow borough where some of the victims lived. 'We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling,' she added. While communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived only by arriving late at the airport. 'The airline staff had already closed the check-in,' said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan. 'At that moment, I kept thinking that if only we had left a little earlier, we wouldn't have missed our flight,' she told the Press Trust of India news agency. © AFP 2025
RTHK
10 hours ago
- General
- RTHK
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims Relatives carry the coffin of a victim who was killed in the Air India flight crash during a funeral at a crematorium in Ahmedabad. Photo: AFP Grieving families held funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades. Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in the western city of Ahmedabad. "My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?" said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery efforts. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. "How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it," Leuva said at the mortuary on Saturday. One victim's relative who did not want to be named said they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. Around 20 to 30 mourners gathered at a crematorium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, chanting prayers in a funeral ceremony for Megha Mehta, a passenger who had been working in London. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff. Mourning relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 32 identified as of Sunday. "This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only," Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late Saturday. The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into what went wrong. Just one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. (AFP)
Al Etihad
10 hours ago
- General
- Al Etihad
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims
15 June 2025 17:14 Ahmedabad (AFP) Grieving families held funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in the western city of Ahmedabad."My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?" said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground."How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it," Leuva told AFP at the mortuary on victim's relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered 20 to 30 mourners gathered at a crematorium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, chanting prayers in a funeral ceremony for Megha Mehta, a passenger who had been working in Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 32 identified as of Sunday."This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only," Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. Girls orphaned by crash Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into what went one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had travelled to India to scatter his wife's ashes following her death weeks earlier."I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us," said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London's Harrow borough where some of the victims lived."We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling," she communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived only by arriving late at the airport."The airline staff had already closed the check-in," said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan. "At that moment, I kept thinking that if only we had left a little earlier, we wouldn't have missed our flight," she told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- General
- Business Recorder
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims
AHMEDABAD: Grieving families held funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades. Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in the western city of Ahmedabad. 'My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?' said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery efforts. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. 'How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it,' Leuva told AFP at the mortuary on Saturday. One victim's relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. Around 20 to 30 mourners gathered at a crematorium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, chanting prayers in a funeral ceremony for Megha Mehta, a passenger who had been working in London. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff. Mourning relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 32 identified as of Sunday. 'This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,' Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late Saturday. The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. Girls orphaned by crash Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. Air India plane crash: reactions from across the world Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would 'give an in-depth insight' into what went wrong. Just one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Among the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had travelled to India to scatter his wife's ashes following her death weeks earlier. 'I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us,' said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London's Harrow borough where some of the victims lived. 'We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling,' she added. While communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived only by arriving late at the airport. 'At that moment, I kept thinking that if only we had left a little earlier, we wouldn't have missed our flight,' she told the Press Trust of India news agency.
New Straits Times
15 hours ago
- General
- New Straits Times
Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims
AHMEDABAD, India: Grieving families were due to hold funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades. Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them in white coffins in the western city of Ahmedabad. "My heart is very heavy, how do we give the bodies to the families?" said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker who has been helping with the recovery efforts. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. "How will they react when they open the gate? But we'll have to do it," Leuva told AFP at the mortuary on Saturday. One victim's relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it. Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff. Mourning relatives have been providing DNA samples to be matched with passengers, with 31 identified as of Sunday morning. "This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only," Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad's civil hospital, said late Saturday. The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, he added, with one or two remaining in critical care. Indian authorities are yet to detail the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India's Dreamliners. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the recovered black box, or flight data recorder, would "give an in-depth insight" into what went wrong. Just one person miraculously escaped the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Among the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had travelled to India to scatter his wife's ashes following her death weeks earlier. "I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us," said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London's Harrow borough where some of the victims lived. "We don't have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling," she added. While communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived only by arriving late at the airport. "The airline staff had already closed the check-in," said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan.
