Latest news with #PiyushkumarPatel
Winnipeg Free Press
17-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Regina man was aboard Air India flight that crashed after takeoff, friend says
REGINA – A Regina father is believed to have been killed on an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff last week. Piyushkumar Patel was on board the London-bound flight that crashed in northwestern India last week, killing at least 270 people. Jatin Patel says his friend's wife and daughters have left for India to provide DNA samples to match his remains. He says Piyushkumar Patel moved to Regina last year with his family after getting a job in the city. Jatin Patel says the father of two travelled to India in May to visit his parents before taking a flight to London so he could see friends. He says he's fundraising money to help the man's wife with expenses while she's away. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
Toronto Star
17-06-2025
- Toronto Star
Regina man was aboard Air India flight that crashed after takeoff, friend says
REGINA - A Regina father is believed to have been killed on an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff last week. Piyushkumar Patel was on board the London-bound flight that crashed in northwestern India last week, killing at least 270 people. Jatin Patel says his friend's wife and daughters have left for India to provide DNA samples to match his remains. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW He says Piyushkumar Patel moved to Regina last year with his family after getting a job in the city. Jatin Patel says the father of two travelled to India in May to visit his parents before taking a flight to London so he could see friends. He says he's fundraising money to help the man's wife with expenses while she's away. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
National Post
17-06-2025
- General
- National Post
'A good father': Regina community remembers young father killed in Air India crash
A Regina father killed in the Air India crash last week had planned his flights back to Saskatchewan so that he could be home in time to celebrate his daughter's birthday, says his cousin. Article content 'He was a good father and he was doing everything for them,' Dhurvest Patel told The Leader-Post Tuesday when speaking about his late cousin Piyushkumar Patel, who had just wrapped up a month-long work trip in India and was on his way to surprise his little girl when tragedy struck. Article content Article content Article content Dhurvest was among the approximately 100 people who attended a memorial service at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan temple in south Regina Monday evening to pray for the at least 270 lives lost when London-bound flight AI 171 crashed into a residential building shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, India on June 12. Article content Article content Mostly wearing white to symbolize purity and peace, the group joined together in an invocation prayer of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti — a wish for peace for the departed souls and strength for the grieving family. Article content People came up to a microphone one at a time to reflect on the lives lost in western India. Some women wiped tears from their face, inhaling before joining everyone in softly clapping along with the calm chanting songs. Article content Dhurvest — who, aside from Piyushkumar's wife and children, is his only other relative in Regina — said he is especially thankful for the support of the local Gujarat community, which has wrapped around the family in mourning. Article content Article content 'We are making ourselves strong so his wife and kids get a better life,' Dhurvest said. Article content Article content Article content 'They don't know' Article content Dhurvest said he learned about the crash a few hours after it happened from his mother in India. Article content He said his thoughts immediately turned to his cousin's young family here in Regina, to whom he had to deliver the news. Article content 'It was a hard time for me, but there was a responsibility for me,' Dhurvest said. 'His wife and his two small daughters are here and they don't know.' Article content Ruchita and daughters Kiya, seven, and Pranshi, two, flew back to the western state of Gujarat to identify Piyushkumar's body at the hospital on Saturday, Dhurvest said. Kiya, whose seventh birthday was that day, provided a DNA sample to match to her father's remains, he said. Article content
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Regina resident among 241 passengers killed in Air India crash
Gujarati Samaj of Saskatchewan Incorporated (GSSK) confirmed that one of its members, Piyushkumar Patel, was among the 279 killed in the crash of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025. (Source: Facebook/Gujarati Samaj of Saskatchewan Inc) A Regina man was on board an Air India flight last week that crashed in the city of Ahmedabad, killing at least 279 people including all but one passenger. The crash happened on June 12, shortly after takeoff. The plane was flying to London, UK. Gujarati Samaj of Saskatchewan Incorporated (GSSK) confirmed in a Facebook post that one of its members was killed in the crash, linking to a fundraiser that identifies Piyushkumar Patel as being among the dead. 'One of our esteemed residents and community members of GSSK tragically lost their life in a recent Ahmedabad Airplane accident,' the post said. The fundraiser describes Patel as a devoted father and caring husband who lived with his family in south Regina. 'Piyushkumar was not just a passenger – he was the heart of his family,' the fundraiser said. 'A dedicated husband to Ruchita Patel and a proud father to two beautiful young daughters, he worked tirelessly to give his family a better life and a brighter future.' 'His kindness, humility, and quiet strength touched everyone who knew him in both India and Canada.' Patel was visiting India for personal reasons. In addition to the passengers, at least 38 people were killed on the ground. An Ontario dentist, Dr. Nirali Patel, was also among the dead. A cause of the crash has not yet been identified, with both Indian and U.S. authorities investigating. Canadian transportation officials are also being updated, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said Thursday his 'thoughts are with the loved ones of everyone on board.' -With files from AFP, the Canadian Press, Bryann Aguilar and Sean Leathong
CBC
13-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Family rushes to India to formally identify Regina father killed in Air India crash
Social Sharing The family of a Saskatchewan man says he died in the crash of an Air India plane bound for London on Thursday. The crash in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad killed at least 240 people. The plane hit a college hostel building shortly after takeoff. Only one passenger survived. Piyushkumar Patel, a permanent resident who lived in Regina with his wife and two small daughters, was in India visiting his parents since May and was heading to the U.K. to see a friend. Piyushkumar's sister, Ashini Patel, told CBC she and his other family members in Regina did not know he was on that particular flight until her parents in India confirmed hours after the crash, due to the difference in time zones. "I know that he was going to London and then I read the news," Patel said. "My mother just said he is on the flight, and your father and other people from our village are already there. That's how we know it." Patel spoke to CBC Saskatchewan from Vancouver, where she was scrambling to get Piyushkumar's wife, Ruchita Patel, an emergency passport, as hers had expired. Three adults and two children from the family boarded a plane from Vancouver to India on Friday afternoon, and hope to help officials formally identify Piyushkumar's body. Patel said the news will be devastating for Piyushkumar's daughters, one of whom will turn seven years old on Saturday. "It's a long journey to go to India, so we didn't tell her yet. She's too small to handle it," Patel said, adding that her relationship with her nieces is very close and maternal. Patel said her younger brother was an amazing father.
