'We feel utterly abandoned': Families of British Air India crash victims criticise UK government's response
The families of three of the British victims of last week's Air India crash in Ahmedabad have criticised the UK government's response to the disaster, saying they "feel utterly abandoned".
It comes after an Air India Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport in western India, killing 229 passengers and 12 crew.
Among the passengers and crew on the Gatwick-bound aircraft were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national.
In a statement, the families of three British citizens who lost their lives said they were calling on the UK government to "immediately step up its presence and response on the ground in Ahmedabad".
The families say they rushed to India to be by their loved ones' sides, "only to find a disjointed, inadequate, and painfully slow government reaction".
"There is no UK leadership here, no medical team, no crisis professionals stationed at the hospital," said a family spokesperson.
"We are forced to make appointments to see consular staff based 20 minutes away in a hotel, while our loved ones lie unidentified in an overstretched and under-resourced hospital.
"We're not asking for miracles - we're asking for presence, for compassion, for action," another family member said.
"Right now, we feel utterly abandoned."
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