Latest news with #SameerRafik
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Funeral for Air India crash victim after DNA match
A DNA sample has matched to a man loved ones feared was on board the Air India flight which crashed in Ahmedabad, family members have told the BBC. A funeral was held in Dagachi Dui, India, at 10:30 BST on Wednesday for Faizan Rafik, 25, who was travelling home to Leicester when the plane crashed on Thursday. Mourners are also due to gather at the Faizan e Madina mosque in Leicester on Thursday, when prayers will be said. Mr Rafik's cousin, Sameer Rafik, told the BBC on Tuesday loved ones had still been "hoping to hear some good news" but they "weren't getting any updates from anywhere". Sameer also backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash. "It feels very awful," he said. "He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin. "We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment." In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash." Air India has been approached for a comment. Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Family desperate for news after India plane crash
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Funeral for Air India crash victim after DNA match
A DNA sample has matched to a man loved ones feared was on board the Air India flight which crashed in Ahmedabad, family members have told the BBC.A funeral was held in Dagachi Dui, India, at 10:30 BST on Wednesday for Faizan Rafik, 25, who was travelling home to Leicester when the plane crashed on are also due to gather at the Faizan e Madina mosque in Leicester on Thursday, when prayers will be Rafik's cousin, Sameer Rafik, told the BBC on Tuesday loved ones had still been "hoping to hear some good news" but they "weren't getting any updates from anywhere". Sameer also backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash."It feels very awful," he said. "He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin."We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment." In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash."Air India has been approached for a comment.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Leicester family desperate for news after Air India plane crash
The family of a British man feared to have been on board the Air India flight that crashed in India say they are desperate for answers about what happened to Rafik was returning home to Leicester when the plane he was due to be travelling on crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on 25-year-old's family say they have not yet received official confirmation about whether he was on board or if so what has happened to his cousin Sameer Rafik said his family had been left "completely stuck and don't know what to do". A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said an advice helpline and a support centre had been set up near the airport. On Tuesday, Sameer said his family had provided DNA more than four days ago, but had still heard nothing."There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive," he said."We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere."Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything."We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?"The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, including 53 was a single passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who survived the crash. Faizan was retuning the UK after visiting his wife in Bharuch, Gujarat for their first Eid celebration has backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the added: "We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died."It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin."We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment."Over the weekend, doctors in India said 270 bodies had been recovered from the site of the crash. A statement from the FCDO said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash."The BBC has contacted Air India for a statement and is awaiting a response.
