Investigators from the UK have arrived in India as enquiries into the fatal Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad get underway.
The crash, which happened shortly after take-off on the flight headed from Sarbar Vallabhbhai Patal International Airport to London Gatwick on Thursday, killed 241 of the 242 people on board.
Officials on Saturday said at least 25 more bodies have been found in the debris of the crash site, a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad.
The sole survivor of the crash is Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British man who had been visiting relatives in India.
The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced that four investigators, who have expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data, arrived shortly after the plane’s black box was recovered on Friday.
An expert told The i Paper that the crash could have been caused by a mechanical failure, although it will be some time before a definite cause is determined.
It is hoped the black box flight recorder, which was recovered from a roof near the crash site, could reveal vital clues about the cause of the accident.
Who are the victims ?
Authorities are still identifying the victims and said that the process was complicated by the fact that some were burnt beyond recognition.
An official, who is part of the investigation, said: “Some bodies were reduced to mere fragments of flesh due to the intense heat. DNA samples have been collected, but the process could take weeks, especially as some families have yet to come forward”.
There were 53 British nationals among the passengers.
Heer (left) and Dhir Baxi, pictured with their grandmother, were on the Gatwick-bound Air India flight that crashed in India – they were returning home to London after surprising their grandmother for her birthday (Photo: PA)They include a family-of-three – Akel Nanawaba, Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sarah, who had been flying home from a family celebration. Ms Vorajee volunteered at a local Islamic school and was also a director of an organisation promoting understanding of the religion. Her husband ran a recruitment firm.
Mr Nanawaba’s cousin Zaheera Nanabawa described him as the “glue” which held the family together. She added: “This whole news is absolutely shocking and devastating for us, and it will leave a hole within our family”.
Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara. (Photo: Family handout/ PA)Couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek were also killed in the crash. They had said on social media that India had been a “magical experience” and were returning to Britain to run their spiritual wellness centre and yoga studio.
Caption: Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek. (Photo: Instagram)Derby’s Hindu Temple said that Dr Prateek Joshi and his young family all died in the crash. The radiologist had moved from India to the UK in 2021 and had a “newly discovered love of fish and chips”.
His colleague at Royal Derby Hospital, Dr Rajeev Singh, said: “It is hard to accept that a man with such a passion for life, and his beautiful young family, have been taken in this way.”
Dr Prateek Joshi, a radiologist from Derby, was killed alongside his wife and three children. (Photo: University Hospitals of Derby and Burton)Other victims include:
Award-winning hotel manager Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam and their two young children, Amani and Zayn. Two sisters in their early 20s, fashion designer Dhir and product manager Heer Baxi A nurse who had just resigned from her job at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital was on board. Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair, a mother of two, was finalising plans to permanently move back home to India. Ashok Patel, a financial advisor, and Shobhana Patel, a retired microbiologist, who live in Orpington, KentHow British Gujaratis are remembering them
One of the largest communities of British Gujaratis is in Harrow, northwest London. There, the International Siddhashram Shakti Center plans to hold a memorial service this afternoon and has invited people of all faiths to attend prayers and a candlelit vigil for victims.
At the same time, the Brent Indian Association is also set to hold a memorial at its headquarters in Wembley.
In Leicester, the hometown of the crash’s only survivor, friends and relatives have been mourning his brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh. On Friday, neighbours were praying from the dead at the Shree Hindu Temple and Community Centre.
This morning, the King also paid tribute to those killed in the crash by observing a minute’s silence during the Trooping the Colour. Black armbands were worn by the head of state and senior royals riding in the ceremony.
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