New Delhi, June 13 || As the nation reels from the devastating crash of Air India Flight AI-171, grief is pouring in from households across India, where families are mourning loved ones lost in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters.
Among the 241 people killed in the air crash, the pain is especially raw in Kurukshetra, Vadodara, and Kheda district of Gujarat.
Anju Sharma, originally from Kurukshetra, had been living in Vadodara with her family. She was on her way to London to visit her elder daughter when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 and rammed into a doctor's hostel nearby.
Her uncle, Balkishan Sharma, deeply shaken, said, “I rarely watch TV. She was my brother’s eldest daughter. I found out about the tragedy from the news.”
In Uttarsanda village in Kheda district, the family of Rupal Patel is facing a similar heartbreak. Rupal, a London resident for 15 years and mother of three, had returned to India for medical treatment. Her visit had gone well, and she was set to return home with better health.
Her brother, Pawan Patel, who dropped her at the airport just hours before the crash, said, “My sister came for a week for treatment. After her operation, she was feeling well. She was happy to return to her husband and three children in London. I dropped her at the airport, and by the time I got home, I heard the devastating news.”