‘Hugged her, asked her to take care: Heartbroken brother recalls last interaction with sister killed in Air India crash
A heartbroken brother of a 45-year-old woman killed in the Ahmedabad crash recalled his last interaction with his sister before she boarded the doomed Air India flight, reported ANI. Rupal Patel, who died in the horror incident, was visiting her maternal home from London in Uttarsanda village in Nadiad of Kheda district for medical treatment.
"My sister had come to Nadiad for treatment. She had a flight today and had to return to London. I had gone to drop her off. However, I got the news that the flight had crashed as soon as I returned home. My sister has been living in London for 15 years and is staying there with her husband and three children," Pawan Patel, brother of Rupal Patel, told ANI.
Pawan recalled helping Rupal with her luggage, hugging her and asking her to care for herself. "She was suffering from a medical condition. I helped her with her luggage and gave her a hug at the end. I asked her to take care of herself," Pawan added.
The passenger flight crashed minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday. It crashed into a resident doctors' hostel building.
'The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital,' Air India wrote in an update on X.
Among the 242 people on the flight, 12 were crew members - 10 cabin crew staffers and two pilots. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national. The sole survivor of the plane crash is an Indian-origin British national.
"Following the tragic incident in Ahmedabad, a formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)," Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu posted on X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
36 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Pimpri Chinchwad bids emotional adieu to Irfan Shaikh who died in Ahmedabad plane crash
THE FUNERAL of 22-year-old Irfan Shaikh, the cabin crew member who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12 was held in Nehrunagar area of Pimpri Chinchwad on Saturday morning. A large number of residents had turned up for the funeral. There were moist eyes, glum faces and each one seemed to feel proud of the young man whose life was cut short by the plane crash. Since most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the medical officials had to match Irfan's DNA samples with those of his close relatives. 'The DNA samples of Irfan's mother, brother and father were taken by the medical team in Ahmedabad. In most of the cases, they were taking three-four DNA samples,' said Azhar Khan, a close relative. Irfan was a resident of Sant Tukaram Nagar area in Pimpri Chinchwad. He did his schooling from Dr D Y Patil School, Pimpri and passed Class 12 from Jaihind college. After that he did an aviation course from Pune City. Khan said the Air India looked after the relatives till the bodies of their loved ones were identified. 'They even ensured that bodies were brought home by plane…Irfan's body arrived home at 7.30 am,' he said. Irfan had joined Air India as cabin crew member two years back. 'He initially worked with Vistara… When he got into Air India, he was very happy,' said Azhar Khan. Among the family members, Irfan's mother was most affected. 'She has still not recovered from the shock. Irfan was very close to her. He used to regularly update her about his duty schedule. For a mother, losing a young child is a shock which is still difficult to describe,' he said. The relatives said Irfan was ambitious and wanted to achieve something big in his career. 'He wanted to scale new heights in his career. Whenever we met, he always spoke about making a big career in airlines. Last time we met was after Eid. He had come to my home in Yerawada,' said Azhar. Ujwal Bhagat, a classmate of Irfan at Dr D Y Patil school, said, 'When Irfan had got his first job, he was very excited. He came to the school with pedhas to distribute it among the students and his teachers who taught him,' he said. Former Pimpri Chinchwad mayor Yogesh Behl said, 'Irfan was the shining star of our area. He had got a job as cabin crew member at such a young age. He had set an example for other youngsters to emulate. His death is indeed shocking and difficult to digest.' Behl, however, lamented that the media has not taken proper cognisance of the death of Irfan. 'He was not just a crew member. He was son of a mother…It is regrettable that television channels did not highlight his death like they did for other staff of the Air India who died in the plane crash. Till his last breath, he was serving the passengers and Air India. But nobody thought it fit to pay glowing tributes to him…He was our true Hero…,' he said, a view echoed by several residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Advocate Sushil Mancharkar said, 'Irfan died like other passengers and the staff. He was just 22 and had great future for him. He was the 'ladla' of his mother and was popular in the neighbourhood and among his friends. His death at such a young age is very unfortunate. He died while doing his duty. We are all proud of him,' he said. Varsha Jagtap, also a resident of Sant Tukaram, said, 'Irfan came from a poor family, had just started doing good in life and was supporting his family. At a young age he struggled a lot for his family's sake but had a great future ahead. As a resident of Sant Tukaram Nagar, I am proud of Irfan. Like me, everyone in our area feels the same.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Navy personnel perform yoga on Beach Road and warships at sea
Visakhapatnam: As the sun rose over the RK Beach in Vizag city on Saturday, Sunrise Command (Eastern Naval Command) personnel and their families, along with residents from parts of Andhra Pradesh, came together to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi on their yoga mats, embracing the energy of the sea and sky. Offshore, warships swayed gently with sailors performing yoga on their decks. This demonstrated the Navy's commitment to this year's Yoga Day theme—'Yoga for One Earth, One Health' Over 11,000 naval personnel from the Navy's Eastern Naval Command and their family members participated in the grand celebrations in Vizag city marking the International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21. The naval personnel and their family members occupied around 10 enclosures along the RK Beach stretch , which was the main venue for the event, thus forming an integral part of the historic gathering. In a parallel display at sea, yoga was performed by the uniform personnel on board six Indian naval ships and two ships of the Indian Coast Guard anchored off Visakhapatnam. The impressive maritime line up includes frontline eastern fleet ships and two coast guard offshore patrol vessels.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
UK team to arrive in Kerala to inspect stranded F-35B stealth fighter of Royal Navy
NEW DELHI: A team of technical experts from the UK is expected to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram in the next couple of days to examine a stranded F-35B 'Lightning' stealth fighter jet of the Royal Navy, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday. The jet, worth over USD 110 million and known to be one of the most advanced fighters, made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the Royal Navy, reportedly had a problem in its hydraulic system. The people cited above said a team of experts from the Royal Navy is arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to inspect the aircraft. Few days ago, a maintenance team from the Carrier Strike Group inspected the aircraft but could not address the glitch, they said. The Indian Air Force last week said it was providing all necessary support for the "rectification and subsequent return" of the aircraft. The aircraft was undertaking routine flying outside Indian Air Defence Identification Zone with Thiruvananthapuram earmarked as the emergency recovery airfield, it said in a brief statement. The HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group carried out military drills with the Indian Navy last week. It is learnt that the aircraft could not return to the carrier on the night of June 14 due to bad weather and made the emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The F-35B is the only fifth generation fighter jet with short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities, making it ideal for operating from smaller decks, austere bases and ships. Known simply as the 'Lightning' in British service, the F-35 model is the short take off/vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the fighter jet that is designed to operate from short-field bases and air-capable ships.
