A husband who was travelling back to London after scattering his late wife’s ashes in India died when the plane set to take him home crash landed just a minute after take-off.
Arjun Patolia, a father-of-two, had been visiting a village in the Amreli district in Gujarat to immerse his deceased wife’s ashes in a local river.
Patolia’s wife Bharatiben had tragically died just seven days ago in London and her dying wish was that her ashes in a floral urn be taken back to her home in India.
After carrying out this last wish, Patolia completed several funeral rites with relatives in his village and was set to return to London on Thursday to see his two daughters, aged four and eight.
Tragically, he did not make the journey and his children have now suddenly been left orphaned.
Patiola died on the doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight AI-171 that had been carrying 242 passengers, including 53 British nationals. The plane crashed just moments after take-off.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST) on Thursday.
Terrifying CCTV footage shows the plane appear to lose control before it starts rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
Arjun Patolia had been visiting a village in the Amreli district in Gujarat to immerse his deceased wife’s ashes in a local river. He died in the Air India flight back to London
Patolia’s wife Bharatiben had tragically died just seven days ago in London and her final wish was that her ashes in a floral urn be taken back to her home in India
The tragedy comes after two doctors and their children snapped a heartbreaking final selfie onboard the Air India plane just moments before disaster struck.
The picture was taken to celebrate ‘new beginnings’ as Komi Vyas, a doctor who worked in Udaipur, had quit her job and was moving to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London, with their three children.
The selfie, taken by Dr Joshi, shows him and his wife seated on one side, smiling, and their young twin boys and elder daughter sitting across the aisle, also with huge grins on their faces.
The couple’s twin boys – Nakul and Pradyut – were five years old and their daughter, Miraya, was eight.
Dr Joshi’s cousin, Nayan said: ‘They left for Ahmedabad yesterday to take the flight to London. Prateek had come here just two days ago to take his wife and children with him.
‘Several other members of both families went to see them off.’
Dr Komi Vyas’ brother, Prabuddha, said she had married Dr Prateek Joshi 10 years ago.
Air India has confirmed that 229 passengers and 12 crew died, adding that the sole survivor is being treated in hospital.
Shocking CCTV footage of the incident shows the doomed Air India plane taking off and then plunging into the ground and exploding into a deadly fireball.
In the newly surfaced clip, the Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner is seen accelerating down the runway before pitching upwards and taking flight.
A video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
But just moments later, the plane appears to lose control and is shown rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
The aircraft then explodes in a huge fireball upon impact, as a massive plume of black smoke is seen billowing out from the site of the crash.
Aviation experts say that the aircraft, which was carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons, may have suddenly lost power ‘at the most critical phase of flight’ after takeoff.
Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after departing Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat this morning.
A British father miraculously survived the plane disaster.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, spoke from the safety of a hospital bed after escaping from the fallen Gatwick-bound Flight 171 this morning.
The passenger, who was in seat 11A when the plane came down in a residential area of Gujarat, recalled: ‘Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.’
‘When I got up, there were bodies all around me,’ he told local media. ‘I was scared. I stood up and ran.
‘There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.’
Astonishing footage showed the passenger walking away from the scene with some visible injuries.
The back of Air India flight 171 is pictured at the site after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India
The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh (pictured), who was seated in 11A, is British and told the Hindustan Times he had lived in London for 20 years
Police said they had found a lone survivor who had been sitting in seat 11A when Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff in India this morning
Authorities had said earlier they believed there were no survivors on the flight, while rescuers told reporters at the scene that they had recovered dozens of bodies of people inside buildings that the plane smashed into as it came down.
The possible causes of the tragedy could include a rapid change in wind causing an engine stall, or a bird strike on both engines.
Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former senior pilot, told NDTV that circulating footage showing the plane’s terrifying descent ‘looked like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power’.
‘The takeoff was perfect,’ he said. ‘And just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.’
Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar noted that the Dreamliner was only 11 years old, so was unlikely to have underlying technical issues. The plane was under the command of Captain Summeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience.
A bird strike ‘would explain why the aircraft did not have the power to lift,’ he said. ‘If there were multiple bird hits on take-off, it probably could not have gone beyond the 6-7 minute threshold and started falling.’
The flight reportedly reached an altitude of just 625 feet before it began to descend, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24, which declared the plane’s transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST)
‘We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,’ it said.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane sent a mayday call moments before the crash.
Air India’s Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared a heartfelt statement that read: ‘With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
‘It is very disappointing that it is a Dreamliner as it is a state-of-the-art Boeing. We cannot rule out security issues. But this is all speculation on my part.’
‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
‘We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.’
Gatwick Airport subsequently confirmed the flight that was due to land at 18:25 on Thursday had crashed on departure.
