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Ahmedabad plane crash: Surat mourns doctor who beat cancer, his pathologist wife; couple was headed to London for relative's birthday
Dr Hitesh Shah (72) was loved and respected by many in Rander area of Surat. Until recently, he ran a hospital in the city along with his pathologist wife Dr Amita Shah (70) before he shut it down following his cancer diagnosis in 2022. However, neighbours say, Dr Hitesh beat the cancer in a year's time and joined the Surat General Hospital to offer his service to the public.
Thursday brought devastating news to the community: Dr Hitesh and Dr Amita were on the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad with 242 people on board, only one of whom survived.
On Monday afternoon, the bodies of the doctor couple were handed over to their two US-based IT engineer sons – Smit, who works with Google, and Sneh, employed with Marvell technologies. The cremation is scheduled at Jehangirpura Cremation Home on Monday evening.
The couple was headed to London to attend the birthday celebrations of Dr Hitesh's sister Bhavna.
Talking to The Indian Express, Dr Amita's brother, Dr Samir Shah, said, 'Dr Hitesh was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2022, and was entirely cured one year ago. He shut down his hospital as he could not attend it regularly due to his illness. After getting fully healed, he joined Surat General Hospital.'
The couple ran Smit Hospital, located in Adajan, and lived in the Tadwadi area of Rander.
After learning about the crash, their sons Smit and Sneh arrived in Gujarat from the US a few days ago.
It was Sneh who had provided his blood samples that matched the DNA of his parents, said Dr Samir. 'He was allowed to see the faces of his parents. Smit is under mental shock. The bodies are coming in an ambulance,' Dr Samir added.
'We have lost our beloved people. They were quite humble and were planning to retire from the medical fraternity,' he said.
'As per the government protocol, we are allowed to keep the body at the house of the doctor couple for 15 minutes, where relatives, family members and friends will offer floral tribute on the coffins kept in the ambulance. The coffins are not allowed to be taken out of the ambulance or even opened to see the faces. Two photos of the couple will be placed on the coffins, allowing people to identify them and pay their respects. The police team and district administration officials will remain present to ensure that the protocol is properly maintained. We are not sure whether the bodies will be cremated with coffins or without them,' said Dr Samir. 'We are hoping to keep the Besna (a post-cremation ritual) in the coming days so that people can come to our home and pay their respects,' he added.
